TOP INVESTORS AEW Europe doubles transaction volumes in 2015 to €5.5b

AEW Europe almost doubled its European real state transaction volumes in 2015 to €5.5 bn compared to €2.8 bn the year before.

The Paris-based real estate investment manager said in a statement that the 2015 performance included a record investment volume of €4.2 bn, lifting AEW's assets assets under management to over €45 bn, of which €19.2 bn is in Europe.

A total of €1.9 bn of capital was raised from new separate accounts and funds including €260 mln for the Europe Value Investors Fund and €125 mln in a first close for the newly launched City Retail Fund.

Rob Wilkinson, CEO at AEW Europe said: '2015 was an incredible year of growth for AEW Europe. The business has been significantly strengthened across the board, through the profile of our transactions, the range of new client mandates, the expansion of our platforms and the addition of new talent, putting us in a strong position to further enhance our position in the market in 2016.'

Transactions
A total of 138 transactions were completed by AEW Europe in the last 12 months, comprising 96 acquisitions and 42 sales. The sales volumes came to €1.3 bn.

The top five transaction in Europe were:

- the acquisition of the Celsius Portfolio, comprising 10 shopping centres across France and Belgium, in partnership with China Investment Corporation;

- Festival Place shopping centre in Basingstoke, England purchased on behalf of a partnership between AEW Europe and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas;

- The €200 mln Corridor French logistics portfolio on behalf of AEW's Logistis fund;

- The €110 mln nextpark GG RheinMain, a 120,000 m2 logistics park development located near Frankfurt, also on behalf of Logistis;

- A portfolio of eight office assets and five retail assets in Paris, on behalf of a French institutional investor.

Preferred markets
Of the €4.2 bn invested by AEW Europe in 2015 (2014: €1.7 bn), France (42%), the UK (24%) and Benelux (23%) remained the preferred markets, with further investments completed in Germany, Central and Eastern Europe, Spain and Italy. Retail was by far the most popular sector, accounting for 48% of the capital deployed, followed by offices and logistics (21% each), residential (2%) and debt (3%), with the remaining 5% allocated to other sectors.

From an operational perspective, AEW Europe’s Continental presence expanded further during the year, with highlights including Patrick Meutermans’ appointment as the new head of Belgium and the Netherlands and the opening of a new office in Frankfurt, Germany. The planned growth of
AEW Europe’s debt platform also gained momentum with the appointment of Cyril Hoyaux as head of Debt Funds Management in Europe, while the private equity investment team was also grown.

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TOP INVESTORS
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PropertyEU is currently compiling its ranking of Top Investors based on transaction volume in 2015. The ranking is based on a survey questionnaire sent to investors and reports such as above by investors on real estate acquisitions and disposal volumes.

Haven’t received a survey request? Please send information on total investment and disposal volumes, plus a list with details of top deals, to Deals Editor Cormac Mac Ruairi at research@propertyeu.info

The ranking is published in March 2016.