Deals

CapMan handed €400m Nordic resi mandate by BVK

The real estate arm of Finnish private equity fund manager CapMan will help the €62bn German investor to increase its exposure to housing in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway where the major cities are currently experiencing significant population growth.

-

CapMan Real Estate, the real estate arm of Finnish private equity fund manager CapMan, has been awarded a €400 million mandate by Berlin-based Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), Germany’s largest pension fund, to invest in Nordic residential markets.

Under its broad mandate, CapMan Real Estate will source, advise on and execute transactions as well as manage the assets on behalf of BVK in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway. The Helsinki-based firm also said it will receive an annual advisory fee and a performance fee on the mandate.

“In the past few years, we have grown to become a leading Nordic real estate investor. The mandate from BVK enables us to combine our local know-how and real estate expertise with our ability to serve international clients,” said Heikki Westerlund (pictured), CapMan's chief executive officer.

CapMan Real Estate has a longstanding relationship with BVK, which has been focusing on real estate strategies specific to individual sectors and regions in recent months. In April the firm advised the German pension fund on an €80 million deal to buy a prime residential portfolio in Helsinki from Finnish real estate fund Tapiola KR IV.

“The largest Nordic cities are experiencing significant population growth, and the residential sector offers reliable income with upside potential. We anticipate increasing demand from international investors attracted to the strong economies and the stability of the region,” said Nigel Pedroz, partner at CapMan Real Estate.

In February BVK teamed up with the European arm of Houston-based developer/fund manager Hines to launch a €1.3 billion separate account program to invest in European high street retail.

While in October the firm hit the news again when it invested €250 million in Asian Pacific real estate through Alpha Investment Partners, the real estate investment business of Singapore property company Keppel Land.

CapMan’s most recent value-add fund, CapMan Nordic Real Estate, closed on €273 million in April last year. It was the firm’s first pan-Nordic vehicle with two thirds of the capital coming from Finnish investors.

BVK has €62 billion assets under management and 2 million pensioners on its books.