Mitiska REIM announced the final closing of the MEREP 3 European value-add fund at €310 million, exceeding the initial target of €300 million and representing a 39 percent increase in funds raised compared to the preceding fund at final close.
MEREP 3 (Mitiska European Real Estate Partners 3) is the third flagship fund from Mitiska REIM and focuses on the accelerating opportunity in convenience real estate across Europe, targeting food-anchored retail parks, multi-let light industrial, self-storage and urban logistics projects. MEREP 3 aims to capitalize on the increasing demand from a growing range of end users for urban infill sites that offer accessible locations, affordable buildings, flexible design and sustainable solutions.
MEREP 3’s investment strategy focuses on light to heavy value-add investments, including repositioning, reconfiguring and retrofitting of existing properties and risk-mitigated development projects. This latest fund builds on the strong track record and performance delivered by the previous funds, which have delivered attractive returns to investors over a range of different economic conditions.
Investors in MEREP 3 include a diverse group of institutional investors, with commitments from pension funds, insurance companies, family offices and banks. In January this year, Mitiska REIM announced a €50 million co-investment alongside MEREP 3 from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Including debt financing, the fund will have a total investment capacity of up to €1 billion to invest in convenience real estate projects across Europe.
In line with Mitiska REIM’s ESG strategy, MEREP 3 aims to deliver future-proof sustainable assets, targeting “Very Good” to “Excellent” BREEAM ratings at the asset level and a GRESB rating on the fund. In addition, MEREP 3’s ESG policy also includes the commitment for each asset to be 10 years below the CRREM pathway after completion of the value-add program.
The fund has already committed 35 percent of its capital to a well-diversified portfolio of convenience real estate assets, with 8 investments totaling €107 million secured so far and a strong pipeline of additional assets currently under due diligence and negotiation.
Sylvie Geuten-Carpentier, Managing Partner of Mitiska REIM, comments: “We are delighted to exceed our initial fundraising target, which is a testament to the strong support from both existing and new investors. We would like to thank all our investors for their confidence in both our investment strategy and platform, the Mitiska REIM team for delivering such a successful fundraising and initial deployment of capital, and our local teams and operating partners for securing high potential opportunities across our European markets.”
Axel Despriet, Managing Partner of Mitiska REIM, adds: “As we look to the coming year, we believe that a window of opportunity is opening up, providing an attractive entry point for specialized value-add investors like Mitiska REIM to capture a recovery in real estate markets across Europe. We think convenience real estate is well positioned, particularly for investments that require capex and hands-on asset management, and believe that MEREP 3 could become an exceptional vintage by providing us with the dry powder to capitalise on the current market conditions and opportunities.”
