The CBRE European Shopping Centre Fund II (ESCF II), a vehicle managed by CBRE Global Investors, has announced its final close at €753 mln.
According to CBRE GI, the figure includes €71 mln of co-investment capital and exceeds the original equity raise target.
'This capital raise has exceeded our expectations and shows that investors are keen to support managers that offer a focused and specialist investment strategy,' commented Florencio Beccar, head of EMEA Retail and fund manager of ESCF II. 'I believe this has been enhanced by the strong performance of our first fund and we are delighted that 35% of the investors were existing ESCF clients.'
The fund, which has already acquired four shopping centres in Germany, Poland, Italy and Spain, was oversubscribed.
'We are one of the market leaders in the European retail sector and these strong capital inflows are a great recognition of our expertise by investors,' added Beccar. 'One of our unique selling propositions is our proprietary database of €14 bn of retail assets under management in Europe which includes 70 shopping centres. We are also able to draw upon the local expertise of our transaction and asset managers who are based in 14 European countries.'
According to the fund manager, the investment strategy is expected to deliver an 11% net IRR and has a core-plus risk profile. The fund targets assets that have a strong operational track record and offer income growth opportunities from short lease expiries or repositioning.
'This platform provides us with a unique understanding of the retail landscape and gives us the edge for identifying the right assets, acquiring them and making them perform for our investors,' Beccar concluded.
