Patrizia has agreed to invest €600 million in a Barcelona residential portfolio, on behalf of its clients, through its pan-European open-ended residential flagship fund, Living Cities.
The portfolio in Barcelona comprises 10 residential assets and consists of a mix of newly completed buildings and buildings that will be constructed during the course of this year, complete with additional services like gyms, co-working spaces, concierge, lounge areas and swimming pools.
“All investment decisions for our Living Cities fund are supported by data intelligence analytics that measure the attractiveness and future potential of the assets we target. In combination with our strong local knowledge, over 200 residential real estate professionals, plus our expert alternatives team, we delivered on a complex, structured investment for our clients. Using our AI technology, we found that the Barcelona assets we have purchased are all very well positioned in their respective macro and micro locations in terms of their proximity to amenities with exciting future growth prospects,” said Sebastian Dietert, Fund Manager of the Living Cities Fund at Patrizia.
“Barcelona, like all other cities we invest in, offers stable income return and long-term capital growth. For connectivity and innovation alone, Barcelona consistently ranks in the top quarter of our Patrizia European Living Cities Report which measures over 100 cities also for their affordability and liquidity, helping clients develop a truly diversified European residential portfolio. And yet, Barcelona is undersupplied and underdeveloped for attractive build-to-rent schemes.”
With this latest strategic investment into Living Cities, the fund now has circa EUR 1.5bn in equity and is targeting the growth milestone of a total of at least EUR 2bn in equity in 2022.
Other recent acquisitions for Living Cities include a large student housing portfolio purchased in Denmark and a residential scheme in Ireland, totalling around 1,500 units, a Build-to-Rent scheme in
Reading, in the UK, of 281 apartments, a 24-storey residential tower in Helsinki, Finland, as well as a residential development and a multi-family asset in Sweden.
“The Living sector, especially multifamily, continues to be very resilient among the economic fluctuations of the Covid-19 pandemic, I am delighted that Living Cities is a strong performer. We raised over EUR 950m in fresh capital for the fund in the last 12 months, at the height of the global Covid pandemic. At the end of Q3 2021 we achieved 10.7 % total return year over year for our clients, so we are on track to beat our own annual target of between 6 and 7 percent return for our fund,” said Nathalie Winkelmann, Living Cities Fund Director and Head of Residential Fund Management at Patrizia.
“With this large Barcelona portfolio now secured and further investments on the horizon for Living Cities in some of Europe’s most liveable and vibrant cities, Patrizia continues to strengthen its market leading position in the stable and highly attractive residential segment.”
Living Cities is one of PATRIZIA’s ESG funds which is compliant with Article 8 of the EU SFDR. As an ESG fund, Living Cities promotes clear ESG targets, for example by providing 100 percent renewable energy for all common spaces in buildings and using energy efficient building materials. Living Cities helps to build sustainable and vibrant communities in close proximity to amenities like kindergartens, schools, green spaces and supermarkets. The fund is closely aligned to five UN Sustainable Development Goals.
