Swedish real estate private equity firm Niam has closed its fifth and largest opportunistic fund, Niam Nordic V, after raising some €719m in total equity commitments.
The investors are a number of global public and corporate pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and financial institutions.
The capital raising reflects international investors’ interest in Nordic real estate as the eurozone falls out of favour. Respondents to last month’s survey by the European Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles European rated the region’s retail and office markets as the second- and third-most preferred location/sector combination in Europe outside Germany.
Johan Bergman, chief executive of Niam , said: “Our investors are 50% North American, around 25% continental European, and 25% Asian, who are all impressed with the strong economies of the region.
“It has been a challenging fundraising environment and we are very pleased with having been able to surpass our own target of €600m,” said Bergman.
Niam presently manages a real estate portfolio of €3.3bn through its three funds Niam III, Niam IV and Niam V.
With a spending capacity of €2.2bn, Niam Nordic V will be invested through Niam’s local organisations in Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki and Copenhagen.
The capital in the new fund will target commercial and residential properties in the Nordic countries. Niam Nordic V is already around 15% invested, having made two purchases this year, totalling around €300m, of a residential portfolio in Copenhagen and two Norwegian shopping centres.
So far the vehicle has not invested in Sweden but Bergman said that the country “has the most liquid market in the Nordics and it’s safe to say a substantial chunk of the money will end up there.”
Cushman & Wakefield is marketing the Rosengårdcentret, Denmark’s second- largest shopping centre, in Odense on Funen. With a gross lettable area of more than 100,000 m2 and 158 units, the centre is likely to be the country’s biggest single-asset sale this year. The agent would not comment on a guide price but sources say that the investment could fetch up to €400m.
