Bouwinvest Invests over €305 Million in Dutch Residential Assets

Institutional real estate invest manager Bouwinvest’s Dutch Residential Fund has acquired over 1,300 residential units for a total investment of around €305 million. Some 90% of the assets are located in Amsterdam, but they are also in Utrecht, Eindhoven and Rijswijk.

The deals have been signed since the start of 2015 to-date. Most of the existing third-party Dutch institutional investors in the fund have increased their commitments with effect from July, taking total new capital raised from external pension funds to €120 million.

Allard van Spaandonk, Bouwinvest Director for the Netherlands said: “As the recovery in the major Dutch residential markets of the central Randstad urban conurbation accelerates with rising prices and rents, it is becoming increasingly difficult for investors to source the type of quality assets in the liberalised rental sector that we have just acquired. Bouwinvest’s strategy of working closely with local development partners and government to invest in new residential projects of the highest standards is paying off, as we now have a secured supply pipeline of €658 million and are the biggest investor in new rental housing building projects in the largest market, Amsterdam. Most of the existing investors in the Residential Fund have also increased their commitments as they see the market opportunity.”

The assets acquired by Bouwinvest’s Dutch Residential Fund to-date in 2015 include:

• Haarlemmerweg, Amsterdam – 450 apartments
• Stadsblok Kop Weespertrekvaart, Amsterdam – 262 apartments
• De Tuinen van Sion, RijswijkBuiten – 43 apartments
• Het Kadeblok, Eindhoven – 36 apartments
• Vredenburgplein, Utrecht – 42 apartments and 18 houses

The latest acquisition is the signing of a Head of Terms for Nautique Living, 473 apartments on the former NDSM-terrein in Amsterdam.

The modern, attractive and well-located assets in the Residential Fund are generally immediately ready to move into and are rented very quickly. The occupancy rate of these residential units currently stands at 98%. This is the result of an integrated rental strategy, developed in conjunction with SmartAgent, which utilises a software program to identify the potential tenant group market and their locations.

Bouwinvest Receives €120 million in New Institutional Commitments
With effect from July this year, Bouwinvest has received investment commitments totalling €120 million from existing Dutch institutional investors in the Residential Fund including the Confectionary Manufacturers Pension Fund (advised and managed by Altis Investment Management), the Physiotherapists Pension Fund and the PNO Media Pension Fund (advised and managed by Grontmij Capital Consultants). The total assets under management of Bouwinvest’s Dutch Residential Fund are €2.9 billion, mainly invested on behalf of bpfBouw, the Dutch Construction Workers Pension Fund.