Europa Capital’s value add fund sells the Hi:Life residential scheme in Aarhus, Denmark to Catella Wohnen Europa Fund for c. €85 million.
Europa Capital, the pan-European real estate investment manager, announces the sale of the Hi:Life residential scheme in Aarhus, Denmark, on behalf of its pan-European value-add fund, Europa Fund V, for €85 million. The purchaser is the Catella Wohnen Europa Fund, which is managed by Catella Residential Investment Management GmbH (CRIM) and Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG).
Europa Capital forward funded the development of the 17,600 sq m project, which opened in 2020. The building, which is fully leased, comprises 234 one to three bedroom apartments with communal roof terraces, which are let at affordable rents, as well as a restaurant unit. The building is designed to be energy efficient, with solar panels on the roof.
Hi:Life is located in Christiansbjerg, the northern district of Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark. The asset benefits from strong transport connections, including the local tram and bus services, which provide access to the city centre.
Since entering the Danish residential market in 2016, Europa Capital has acquired a total of over 2,000 beds in the let residential market in Denmark, totalling circa €400 million of value, on behalf of a range of investment products, including its value add fund series, and continues to target opportunities in this market.
Jason Oram, Partner & Fund Manager at Europa Capital, commented: “Having established a significant amount of experience in the residential market in Copenhagen, we recognised that investor appetite would soon expand to other mature cities within Denmark, such as Aarhus, which also offer favourable demand/supply dynamics.”
Hugo Black, Partner at Europa Capital, added: “This sale, at a very good yield for the Aarhus residential market, reflects the delivery of our asset management strategy to produce an asset with strong environmental credentials and generate an attractive return for our investors. On completion of the development, we were able to let up the building quickly, demonstrating the ongoing strong demand for affordable housing which we are seeing across Europe’s major cities.”
