Catella raises €280m for European residential real estate fund

Catella raises €280m for European residential real estate fund

Catella Residential Investment Management has raised €280 million for Catella European Residential III Fund (CER III), the first pan-European ‘dark-green’ ESG impact fund for residential real estate.

The fund’s total assets under management has passed the €1.0 billion milestone, said Catella.

CER III has a diversified portfolio of investments in seven European countries encompassing around 30 properties.

Several assets in the Netherlands, France, the UK, and Spain are also in due diligence. CER III’s most recent acquisition, and its second in the UK market, was the purchase of the Gramercy Tower apartment building in Cardiff.

Michael Fink, Managing Director, CRIM, said: “The CER III impact fund has a laser focus on the ‘decarbonization transition’ in its residential investments and we are also strongly committed to societal fairness through targeting affordable rents. The fund achieves a high standard of governance by adopting Nassim’s Taleb’s concept of ‘skin in the game,’ or alignment of interests between the manager and investor, through its fee structure and is attracting increasing numbers of like-minded institutional investors who share our ESG principles.”

The fund targets the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and has sustainable societal objectives in its investments. CER III has also integrated a penalty clause into its management agreement whereby CRIM will donate part of its recurring management fee to a relevant impact-related United Nations charity, should the manager fail to meet the financial, environmental, or societal objectives set for the fund. This strengthens the third ESG pillar – the governance factor (G) – and links investor and fund manager interests in the fee structure. Nassim Taleb contends that when investor and manager both have real ‘skin in the game,’ or measurable risks in a major investment decision, and share these risks between them, this results in higher standards of fairness and transparency through a greater alignment of interests.

Casper van Grieken, Executive Director, CBRE Netherlands – Head of Capital Advisors, concluded: “Europe is battling a chronic affordable housing shortage, rising energy bills and a climate emergency. CER III has clear objectives to address these issues in its investment strategy and philosophy. For instance, by investing in the world’s first energy-positive residential towers through the joint venture between Catella and French sustainable engineering group Elithis. These buildings produce more energy than the buildings including the tenants consume, eliminating household energy bills and boosting disposable income. It is great to see this strategy coming to life and growing quickly!”