Standard Life Investments, the global asset manager and one of the largest real estate investors in Europe, is approaching the final close of its third ‘Euro Club’ expecting to raise a combined total of €1bn in equity providing €2bn of investment capacity, when leverage is included, from its three European real estate clubs.
The first Standard Life Investments European Real Estate Club L.P. (Euro Club) was launched in 2014, exceeding its equity raising target with €308m of commitments. In 2015, the Standard Life Investments European Real Estate Club II L.P. (Euro Club II) raised €393m, again exceeding its target. Both clubs are now fully committed having deployed capital well within investment period targets.
The Standard Life Investments European Real Estate Club L.P. III (Euro Club III) is on track to raise close to its maximum €300m equity limit, having completed two closings for €237m of equity since June 2016. The seven-year closed end vehicle will have an investment capacity of up to around €600m and will target commercial property in core European markets – notably France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden.
To date, Standard Life Investments has committed around €1.5bn of capital through the three clubs.
Daniel McHugh, Head of Continental European Real Estate, Standard Life Investments, and Fund Manager for all three Euro Clubs said:
“We developed Euro Club, Euro Club II and Euro Club III in direct response to international investor appetite for access to high quality assets with the potential for value-add enhancement and superior returns. This investment thesis has proven very compelling and many of our investors have committed capital to at least two of the three clubs.
“Despite the ongoing competitive environment, we’ve delivered a successful investment programme lining up a first class pipeline of opportunities and rapidly completing deals through our highly efficient investment process. Both Euro Club and Euro Club II had target investment periods of 12 months, but were fully committed within nine and six months respectively. With three deals already completed for Euro Club III, we’re confident of delivering a similarly positive result for our latest vehicle.”
David Paine, Head of Real Estate, Standard Life Investments, added: “The success of our Euro Club series has contributed to wider growth of real estate assets managed in Continental Europe. We now have a team of 20 based in new offices in Paris and will be building on the momentum of the last three years.”
