Aberdeen offers German and Swedish residential property funds

Aberdeen Asset Management has launched a German residential property for institutional investors with initial seed capital of €115 million, and the aim of investing €1 billion in total.

Aberdeen said that interest in indirect investment in residential property has picked up recently, boosted by very good fundamental data for the German economy and the trend towards reurbanisation pushing up the population and number of households in German metropolitan regions. In particular, Aberdeen said that the growth in the number of households, including single households, and demand for more space per person is boosting demand for urban apartments. It added that in light of increasing energy prices, it would focus on centrally sited new buildings or refurbishments with a high level of energy efficiency.

The fund’s initial portfolio consists of four properties in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Karlsruhe, comprising 350 rental units that are virtually fully let. It has also acquired a property with 120 units in Heidelberg and has signed a contract to purchase a residential property in Munich with over 100 apartments.

Aberdeen has also raised over €115 million from institutional investors for a fund giving exposure to Swedish residential property.

The Aberdeen Residential Sweden Fund has a conservative investment strategy, and invests in high-quality residential housing in growth areas. Aberdeen head of investment management property in Sweden, Goran Bengtsson, commented: “Housing in Sweden is experiencing strong investor interest, and we feel we have managed to fill a gap in the market with this new product for midsized institutional investors. It is very gratifying that the first closing was so successful, giving us a good opportunity to finalise interesting transactions in the coming months.”

As at the end of June 2012, Aberdeen managed property investments with a total value of €3.6 billion in Sweden.