Europa splashes €178m on mixed Danish portfolio – Exclusive

The London-based private equity real estate firm has returned to a favored Copenhagen district to make the latest purchase for its fifth pan-European investment vehicle. 

Europa Capital, the London-based private equity real estate firm, and Keystone Investment Management, the Copenhagen-based real estate investor, have acquired a portfolio of office and residential assets in the Danish capital for €178 million.

The portfolio includes four residential blocks, comprising 318 units, and six refurbished office buildings comprising a total of 248,000 square feet. All of the properties are located in the suburb of Valby, one of Copenhagen’s fastest growing districts.

The seller was Danish commercial and residential property developer De Forenede Ejendomssekskabe.

The latest acquisitions, bought using capital from Europa’s fifth pan-European value-add investment vehicle, Europa Fund V, has seen Europa return to familiar territory following a similar deal in 2015 in Valby.

“We are pleased to have completed our second transaction in Valby, Copenhagen, following Europa’s acquisition of 357 of residential units in 2015. The Valby residential accommodation will help towards alleviating the supply constraint pressures in the capital city, which have been created by a growing populous,” said Hugo Black, partner at Europa.

Fund V was launched in September last year with an original target of €750 million. In April, the firm held a first close after reaching €360 million, but it is understood the fund now has total firepower of €1 billion, including debt.

Europa made its first acquisition on behalf of Fund V in July, when it acquired a prime residential building in Madrid for around €25 million. The 69,500 square foot property, General Martinez Campos 19, was to be refurbished in partnership with Madrid-based real estate firm Richelieu Developments, to provide 33 luxury homes complete with leisure facilities. 

Europa held a final close on the predecessor vehicle, Fund IV, in 2012 after garnering €604 million in capital commitments. The fund is now largely deployed following the May purchase of the 5 Quai Marcel Dassault office building in Paris’ La Defense financial district. Through the fund, Europa has also picked up assets in the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and the Czech Republic.