Real estate investment manager Heitman has acquired two residential portfolios in Germany and the Netherlands respectively on behalf of its European residential fund HERIP.
The firm has purchased 1,000 private rental units and 24 commercial units across seven German federal states and 125 rented residential units across the Netherland’s Randstad region. Financial details were not disclosed.
The portfolios were acquired for Heitman European Residential Investment Partners (HERIP), which has now invested 71% of the fund’s committed equity of €230 mln.
HERIP’s final close will be held at year-end and the fund is expected to reach €300 mln in equity commitments. Since 2014, Heitman’s Western European rented residential portfolio has grown to over €500 mln in value, comprising 300,000 m2 and 4,700 units located in Germany and the Netherlands.
Heitman’s latest investment in Germany consists of an institutional portfolio of 1,024 units comprising 65,000 m2 of leasable residences located across the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Bremen and Hesse. The portfolio is 98% leased and almost 60% is located in Berlin, Hannover, Paderborn and Halle (Saale). The seller was Landericus Limited, a Guernsey-based closed-end investment fund.
Following its September acquisition of 125 rented residential units from Nationale Vastgoed Group’s portfolio, Heitman’s Dutch portfolio now comprises just under 80,000 m2 over 1,700 units that are situated in and around the cities of Amsterdam, Leiden, The Hague and Utrecht.
Commenting on the investments, Gordon Black, senior managing director for Heitman, said: ‘We continue to believe accumulating positions in residential real estate situated in high-barrier-to-entry markets is warranted given broader macro-economic conditions in demographically attractive cities in Germany and the Netherlands. The properties are extremely well-let and will provide strong income and further growth potential through the prudent use of additional capital to implement various value creation strategies at the asset level.’
Founded in 1966, Heitman is a global real estate investment management firm with nearly $37 bn (€34 bn) in assets under management.
