Abrdn European property fund in €500m deals

Abrdn said its European Balanced Property Fund is making a number of acquisitions in the logistics, hotels and senior living sectors for a total of €500 million after winning new commitments from investors.

The European Balanced Property Fund is an open-ended fund designed for institutional investors with a strategy to invest in office, logistics, retail and mixed-use properties in the Eurozone.

Following the acquisition of a hotel in Munich for €26 million and a newly built logistics unit in Cuijk in The Netherlands for €43 million, the fund has also acquired a logistics portfolio in Paris and Lille for €213 million, all of which are fully leased.

Two more fully pre-let, newly built logistics units in Lyon (€23m) and Rotterdam (€38m) are due to be completed soon and added to the portfolio.

The fund has also agreed to acquire two forward funding pre-let senior-living assets in Paris and a logistics unit in Helsinki for a total of €160 million.

Abrdn fund manager Gert-Jan Kapiteyn said: “Last year the fund received approval from investors to invest in PRS residential, as well as hotels, self-storage, and senior living and student halls alongside its existing investments in offices, logistics and retail.

“The fund is taking the opportunity to invest further into these sectors with strong demand/supply dynamics and excellent return prospects in major cities across the Eurozone.

“The portfolio is well diversified and defensively positioned with long leases (WAULT over 10 years), low gearing (13% LTV), high quality tenants and low vacancy (3%).

“And given the acceleration of inflation, 91% of income is linked to CPI, with the remaining 9% experiencing fixed uplifts.”

The fund has a strong ESG focus and has been awarded the highest 5-star rating by GRESB for 2021.