The Catella European Residential Fund III fund has invested £32m (€37m) to buy its first UK asset.

The fund’s manager Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) and its UK-based partner Catella APAM have acquired The Arches in Leicester from developer Watkin Jones. The 184-unit build to rent development will open in August.

Hugh McAleer at Catella APAM, said: “This transaction is the first acquisition that Catella APAM has carried out acting as CER III’s investment and asset manager. The COVID-19 pandemic is driving a fundamental shift in traditional living and working patterns.

“As a result, the high quality and varied communal facilities and outside space incorporated into The Arches will establish a new benchmark for this type of rental accommodation in Leicester.�

Patrick Au Yeung, fund manager for the Catella European Residential Fund III, said: “With Catella APAM we have been able to secure our first UK acquisition for the CER III Fund as part of a longer-term strategy to invest in high-quality, well-located, residential assets across the UK.

“With the acquisition in Leicester in the UK, we’re able to invest already in the seventh country for CER III in less than 2 years. The fund has a strong pipeline with compelling investment opportunities to act upon in the forthcoming months in order to further grow and diversify the portfolio.�

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