FINANCE: Valad Europe has secured €190m (£150m) of new equity from existing investors in its diversified European fund, which will expand into France.
The fund manager said the new equity has doubled the Valad European Diversified Fund’s total capacity to €1bn.
Since its launch last year, the fund has invested about €234m of capital in a diversified portfolio of 14 assets targeting lot sizes between €5m and €50m, using 50-65% leverage.
It has a further €229m under offer or exchanged, across the UK and Germany, where it will continue to invest in core plus/value add assets.
VEDF will now also allocate up to €250m of capital to investments in France using Valad’s local platform.
Valad Europe CIO David Kirby said: “We had a first close of VEDF last December, having secured €180m of equity commitments in response to strong demand from select international investors looking for attractive opportunities in European real estate.
“Having acquired or contracted in excess of €450m over the past eight months, securing these additional equity commitments from the fund’s investors will enable VEDF to continue pursuing its investment strategy and further expand it geographically into France.
“We believe France will provide additional attractive opportunities to enhance the fund and we have a strong team on the ground seeking good-quality investments, with an offer already accepted on our first acquisition. At the same time, the UK and Germany continue to provide attractive investment opportunities.”
bridget.o’connell@estatesgazette.com
