Catella Residential Investment Management’s (CRIM) CER III Fund has received €125m from two new institutional investors; €100m from a large Dutch pension fund and €25m from a leading German fund manager, bringing its total capital commitments to €235m. These latest commitments bring the Fund closer to its mid-term target of €1bn in assets under management on the way to establishing a multi-billion open-ended investment vehicle across European residential real estate markets. The successful double-signing follows a first close in May 2019 when CRIM’s maiden pan-European residential fund opened to international investors. CRIM already manages the €1.5bn Catella European Residential Fund and €900m Catella Wohnen Europa Fund open to German investors in comparable strategies.
Michael Fink, Managing Director, CRIM, said: “Demand for affordable and highly sustainable rental housing will be greater than ever after the COVID-19 crisis passes and we continue to see very strong interest from both German and international investors for our cash flow-focused residential investment vehicles. Residential assets are already proving to be the most defensive and resilient among property sectors as the European economic recession deepens. Catella’s research and risk models take these downside scenarios into account when constructing portfolio compositions. The CER III fund’s Luxembourg-based structure also provides international investors with easy access to Catella’s platform, which is the largest and most geographically diverse across European markets. We anticipate that we will be able to announce further new investors alongside our new Dutch and German clients in the near future.”
Casper van Grieken, Head of Equity Placement at CBRE Netherlands, the placement agent for the CER III Fund, said: “Amid the huge uncertainties stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, Catella has succeeded in adding two more heavyweight investors to its stable. It is quite a feat to secure transactions in the current environment and this achievement is clearly an endorsement of the quality and track record of Catella’s residential platform and strong ability to source attractive investments across Europe.”
