Real Estate has launched its third pan-European hotel fund and for the first time has given it an open-ended structure.

The fund manager said it had raised close to €180m from 10 institutional investors in an initial round of fundraising.

Invesco in 2006 and 2011, structuring them as finite-life, closed-ended vehicles. Last year, it sought to wind up its second fund early for a number of assets.

The switch to a perpetual-life fund for its third vehicle reflects a wider shift in favour of open-ended structures, as investors seek long-term exposure to real estate markets.

Earlier this year, Tristan Capital, which has always managed closed-ended funds, .

Invesco said the open-ended structure would also suit hotel investments because of their longer leases, lower volatility and long-term income and return characteristics compared with traditional commercial property.

The fund will seek to generate an income return of between 6% and 7% by acquiring high quality, mid-market hotels in city centres that can cater to business travellers in the week and tourists at the weekends.

It has a €200m seed portfolio of four assets in the Netherlands and Germany, and aims to grow the fund to around €500m in the first two years.

Marc Socker, managing director of hotel fund management at Invesco Real Estate, said Invesco continued β€œto see growing interest in this sector, particularly from investors who find the long leases and strong cash flows generated by hotels very attractive”.

He said: β€œInvestors also noticed the way hotels continued to provide a positive total return compared to commercial property during the financial crisis, and this gives them an additional degree of confidence today.

The fund will target an income return which provides a premium to the long-run average income return from pan-European commercial real estate.”

Internos Global Investors, another fund, also  for a European hotel fund.