ActivumSG fund buys Germany's largest senior housing developer

A fund managed by Jersey-based Activum SG Capital Management has acquired Wi-Immo Group, Germany's largest specialist developer of senior housing, in a bid to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the country's ageing population.

Activum SG Fund III has purchased a 94% interest in Wi-Immo Group, a fast-growing private company based in Hildesheim near Hanover that generates annual sales of around €90 mln. Activum said it paid less than €50m, and total project investment costs will not exceed €100m for the group, which it will allocate to its third big fund.

Founded in 2008, Wi-Immo Group sells units in care homes and retirement complexes that it has either developed itself or on behalf of operators and owners. The company currently has a pipeline of 22 projects.

Saul Goldstein, founder and managing partner of Activum SG, said: "Germany's ageing population presents a compelling investment opportunity that we're grabbing for our investors through Wi-Immo Group’s market-leading platform. There's a lot of investor interest in senior housing in Germany and the competition is pushing up asset prices, which is why we have gone down the developer route."

European Union statistics show that 21% of Germany's population is currently aged 65 or more and this proportion will grow to 28.1% by 2030. Care providers will need to build additional space to accommodate 300,000 more of its elderly citizens by 2030, according to German government projections.

Frank Winkel, founder and CEO of Wi-Immo Group, said: 'With the support of our new shareholder we are looking to broaden our footprint right across Germany and to step up the number of care-home units that we deliver to around 1,000 a year, from about 650 currently.'

The investment in Wi-Immo Group means that Activum SG Fund III has committed nearly all the €380m of equity that it raised from investors at its final close in March 2014.