Industry News

Barings has bought a GBP215 million (EUR250.3 million) mixed-use development in the UK. The manager said it has acquired Soapworks in Bristol on behalf of a ”retained client” and will work with developer Socius to deliver the scheme. The scheme has planning consent for 154,000sqft of flexible office accommodation as well as 243 build-to-rent apartments, and 18,800sqft of flexible ground floor retail, hospitality and leisure space. Darren Hutchinson, managing director and head of UK real estate transactions at Barings, said...

Pan-European investor Patron Capital and its joint venture partner Sonar Real Estate have acquired a vacant office building in Germany from Commerz Real’s CFB 134 fund for an undisclosed sum. The 457,000sqft Prisma building at Hahnstrasse 55 in Frankfurt was built in 2001. Sonar will be responsible for the asset management and proposed repositioning of the building. Christoph Ignaczak, a senior partner at Patron Capital, said: “This project represents an exciting opportunity to create a state-of-the-art, attractive office property as...

Global real estate investment manager LaSalle Investment Management (LaSalle) has completed the acquisition of a fully pre-let senior living property in central Toulouse through a forward-funding agreement with the French developer Cogedim. The transaction has been made on behalf of Encore+, LaSalle’s flagship pan-European fund, and represents the fund’s first investment in the senior living space. The acquisition also represents LaSalle’s first investment in senior living in continental Europe and builds upon its expertise in and exposure to the sector...

Deka Immobilien has acquired a further office property in Stuttgart for the new Domus Megatrends Europa special fund for an undisclosed amount. The property had been held in a joint venture between the Barings Real Estate European Value-Add Fund I (BREEVA I) and a retained US client of Barings. After purchases in Dublin and Madrid, the property is the third investment for the fund under development. The five-storey Leo Business Campus Bauteil E office building was completed in 2019. It...

BMO Real Estate Partners (BMO REP) has made the first acquisition for its new Europe residential fund. The manager said the BMO Europe Residential FCP-RAIF fund, which seeks raise to raise €800m, has acquired a 5,600sqm property at Paviljoensgracht 1-3 in The Hague for an undisclosed amount. The six-storey building was built in 1983 as an office and commercial building and was converted into a residential building over the last two years. The BMO Europe Residential FCP-RAIF fund, categorised as...

Swiss Life Asset Managers and its subsidiary Mayfair Capital have bought their first residential development in the UK for an open-ended real estate fund. The Swiss Life fund has acquired the Duet development in Manchester from the Moorfield Group managed Moorfield Real Estate Fund (MREF) IV fund for GBP73.9 million (EUR86 million). Located in Salford Quays, Duet was opened in 2019 and comprises 270 one, two and three-room apartments. Jos Seligman, transaction and fund manager at Mayfair Capital Investment Management...

Global real estate firm Hines and Dutch pension fund manager PGGM have partnered to build 1,400 rental apartments in Italy. The partnership’s projects include an urban regeneration plan located in Lambrate and two real estate portfolios situated in Milan’s southern quadrant between Navigli and Porta Romana. Hines said it will act as the developer and co-investor for the projects. Hines said the investment for the Milano Lambrate project, comprising 400 residential units, is being made through the Milan Living Fund...

An opportunistic fund managed by Tristan Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in a UK and Ireland budget hotel platform as part of a GBP420 million (EUR489 million) deal. Tristan Capital’s European Property Investors Special Opportunities 6 (EPISO 6) has acquired the shareholding in Raag Hotels, which owns 10 Point A Hotels branded hotels. The Tristan fund will own the hotel platform alongside current minority shareholders, Queensway, a company associated with the Jivraj family, and a company owned by...

Generali Real Estate welcomes Fraser D’Arcy as the new Head of UK, a pivotal role to continue the commitment to the Central London market. D’Arcy joins Generali Real Estate following the recent acquisition of the Times Square building, which marked Generali’s comeback to the UK markets. London is one of the main investment markets for Generali Real Estate in the next years, and plays a central role in the company’s investment strategy in the most interesting and dynamic cities across...