F&C REIT gears up for new German investment spree

UK property fund and asset manager F&C Reit Asset Management is all set to start buying new assets for it Best Value Germany II (BVG II) Spezialfonds. The first closing was at the end of July, but the Munich-based German company did not divulge how much has so far been raised, other than saying that the target volume is €500m, based on 50% leverage.

Like its predecessor the Spezialfonds BVG I, which is expected to be fully invested by end-2013, the new Spezialfonds BVG II will be invested in classic office and retail properties in prime urban locations, at unit prices of between €5m and €50m apiece, while this time value-add and opportunistic properties will also be considered in the mix. The fund will be managed by Hansainvest.

F&C in Germany has already invested €120m in the first half of this year in buying eleven separate buildings in medium-sized German cities, including three retail parks, an office building and seven other commercial buildings. New leases in the past six months came to 220,000 sqm, mainly in retail, worth annual rental income of more than €2m.

Overall, F&C REIT manages a portfolio of 270 assets in Germany valued at €1.4bn, with about 730,000 sqm under management, about 60% of which has a retail component.