HB Reavis Group, a Slovak-based real estate developer and investor active in Central Europe (CE), has launched its first real estate fund. HB Reavis CE REIF is a Luxembourg-based Sicav-Sif with core strategy, focusing on prime commercial properties in Central European countries, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary.

The seed portfolio consists of five newly built and fully-let commercial properties - two office blocks in Bratislava, one of the shopping malls developed under the HB Reavis Group's Aupark brand and two logistics parks. Combined, they provide a total of more than 100,000 m2 of gross leasable area and have a market value of EUR 165 mln.

HB Reavis Investment Management expects to raise up to EUR 100 mln of equity commitments from institutional investors, high-net-worth individuals and family offices, allowing the fund to make further acquisitions, mainly in Poland and the Czech Republic. This would bring the total market value of the fund's assets to EUR 330 mln.

The expected total return for investors, net after all fees, is 11% per annum.

'We see a post-crises come-back of commercial properties, while the economies of core CE countries are expected to achieve growth above the EU average. We therefore believe the time is right for us to launch a new business line of real estate investment management. Our management company is regulated by the Luxembourg authorities and the management team has experience with management of private equity funds in the UK,' Roman Karabelli, spokesperson of HB Reavis Group said.