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Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), manager of Norway's EUR 440 bn Government Pension Fund Global, has formed a joint venture with Italian insurer Generali to invest in core real estate in Paris.

Generali Group has provided the joint venture with an initial portfolio of five buildings valued at EUR 550 mln, in which the Norwegian oil-fuelled sovereign wealth fund has taken a 50% stake. Generali Real Estate will provide asset management services to the portfolio that comprises 38,600 m² of office and retail space.

The joint venture has a long-term strategy and investment programme, and will focus on large buildings leased as office or retail, in Paris. Generali Real Estate indicated in a statement the partnership may be extended to other markets in continental Europe, through the creation of similar investment platforms.

‘We are pleased to partner with an institution of Generali’s calibre and hope to expand the relationship in the years ahead,' said Karsten Kallevig, NBIM’s chief investment officer for real estate.

This is NBIM’s second real estate co-investment platform in the French capital. Exactly a year ago, the Norwegians formed an alliance with the real estate arm of French insurer AXA. The joint venture now has EUR 1.7 bn of assets under management in Paris.

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund began investing in direct property two years ago by taking a 25% stake in London's Regent Street for EUR 510 mln. The investment created a joint venture with The Crown Estate, which manages Regent Street and all the properties owned by the British sovereign.