Patrizia is targeting affordable housing. The German real estate company has closed its first fund with a planned investment of more than €500 million in social and affordable housing, with the aim of creating a pan-European portfolio in this sector. According to the company, this investment vehicle, called Patrizia Sustainable Communities, has attracted the interest and commitment of ten institutional investors, with the Danish pension funds AP Pension and PKA as the main investors.
Patrizia's strategy with this fund is ambitious. The company aims to provide accommodation for more than 7,500 people in social and affordable housing and to develop 100% net zero energy buildings. In addition, it plans to make investments in more than 25 European cities, including Spain, to combat social problems such as loneliness.
The fund has already committed a significant portion of its capital to affordable housing projects in key metropolitan areas of Western Europe. So far, it has started its investment programme with four relevant projects: two in Dublin, Ireland, and two in Milton Keynes and Bishop's Stortford, UK, which will provide approximately 1,000 social and affordable homes.
Patrizia Global Partner's director of sustainable communities and head of European investment, Marleen Bikker-Bekkers, emphasised the urgency of the situation: "With more than 80 million Europeans concerned about the cost of housing, it is essential to accelerate the delivery of high quality affordable housing, a task that governments alone cannot address".
Patrizia, which manages assets worth €58 billion and has approximately 1,000 professionals in 28 centres around the world, aims to become a benchmark in real estate impact investing by 2035. The fund aims to build a balanced portfolio, with more than two-thirds of its assets in affordable and social housing, and to complement this with investments in alternative housing, social infrastructure and community spaces.
In terms of sustainability, the strategy will focus on reducing carbon emissions by at least 40% in repositioning projects and achieving net zero energy buildings in new developments. Target countries for investments include the UK, Ireland, Benelux, France, Germany, Spain and the Nordic countries. In the UK, Patrizia has already launched a programme to invest €115 million in sustainable new detached homes for the affordable housing sector, and in Ireland it has invested in two social housing developments on the outskirts of Dublin.
