FINANCE: AEW Europe is seeking to build a €300m (£214m) portfolio of German retail assets on behalf of a US investor.
The fund manager, with local partner and German retail specialist Kintyre, will focus on assets in lot sizes of €5m-€15m to build an initial portfolio of €150m. Contracts have been signed for the first acquisition with a further eight under offer.
Paul Shiels, co-founder of Kintyre, said: “We see considerable value in smaller transactions, located away from the large German cities. Retailers continue to trade strongly in these areas and this creates attractive asset management opportunities.”
Russell Jewell, head of private equity funds for AEW Europe, added: “This sector represents good value at present with potential upside through asset management and a demonstrable pipeline of deals. Kintyre’s local expertise gives us great market coverage in the sector and strong execution capabilities.”
To date AEW has concluded more than €1bn in value-add and opportunistic transactions in Europe and in 2014 raised more than €2.2bn in equity.
