CapMan closes on €273m for latest value-add fund

Helsinki-headquartered CapMan Real Estate has held a final closing for its latest value-add fund at €273 million after collecting commitments from investors across Europe and the US.

The CapMan Nordic Real Estate fund, for which the firm originally targeted €250 million and started fundraising in 2013, will be invested predominantly in office, retail and residential properties in submarkets of major Nordic cities.

The fund is CapMan’s first pan-Nordic fund where there are international investors invested, all of the firm’s prior funds only collected capital from Finnish investors. Nearly a third of the fund’s capital came from outside of Finland, according to Mika Matikainen, senior partner and head of CapMan Real Estate.

The firm has already made six investments for the fund deploying around one third of its total capital. The investments include office buildings Silverdal I, Apelsinen 4 and Bergshamra Bro in office areas in Northern Stockholm and the Plaza Presto office building in Finland close to the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. The firm has also acquired nine properties on Amagerbrogade, the main shopping street and thoroughfare of Copenhagen and two prime residential properties in central Copenhagen.

“We think that there is a great opportunity in Danish resi, especially Copenhagen resi. It’s getting warmer and warmer that market but we have already done some interesting deals there,” said Matikainen.

Last week the firm made its latest investment commitment to the development of City Center BROEN, a shopping center in Esbjerg, Denmark. The construction of the shopping center with approximately 70 stores will start in the spring 2015. The development project is carried out in partnership with Nordic property developers TK Development.

“We have of course done quite a few deals and so when we are coming back to the market that could be sooner than what we initially anticipated as the pipeline looks fairly strong,” said Matikainen.