BMO REP launches residential fund with first acquisition in The Hague

BMO REP launches residential fund with first acquisition in The Hague

BMO Real Estate Partners (BMO REP) has launched BMO Europe Residential FCP-RAIF, BMO Europe residential fund, with the first acquisition in The Hague.

The new fund, which has a target investment volume of €800 million, will invest in mid-market and affordable residential real estate as well as senior living in metropolitan regions and major cities in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy and Spain.

The fund’s first acquisition is a 5,600 sqm property at Paviljoensgracht 1-3 in The Hague. The six-storey building was built in 1983 as an office and commercial building and was converted into a residential building over the last two years.

It consists of 60 studios and one-bedroom apartments with a total of over 3,050 sqm living space. Additionally, the ground and first floor feature around 2,550 sqm of office space, currently on a long-term lease to the municipality of The Hague. There are also 51 underground parking spaces.

The new fund is classified an Article 8 Fund under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

Under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), Article 8 Funds are classified as those which actively promote environmental or social characteristics. Article 8 Funds will be subject to higher standards of disclosure under the SFDR.

Commenting on the launch, Iris Schöberl, Managing Director Germany and Head of Institutional Clients at BMO Real Estate Partners, commented: “We are delighted to have struck gold with our first purchase for the European residential fund as The Hague offers such an international environment. The property is a prime example of a dynamic, mixed-use development and can be used as a model for numerous other properties. In the long term, there is the possibility of converting further letting areas into apartments thus presenting a great potential for value appreciation,”

Commenting on the Fund’s property acquisition, Ian Kelley, Managing Director, Head of France, Benelux and Southern Europe at BMO REP, said: “The property has an excellent micro-location in the city centre of The Hague in the immediate vicinity of the main shopping street, with excellent infrastructural connections. The residents of the fully rented property have easy access to both the city’s largest office submarket and cultural and educational institutions, such as the Leiden University campus.”