BC Partners Real Estate (BCP RE) has announced the final close of its debut fund, BC Partners European Real Estate I (BCPERE I), having secured total commitments of €900 mln for this European value-add investment strategy.
The equity raising significantly exceeded BC’s initial target range of €500-700 mln.
‘Our investment philosophy is based on the strong conviction that real estate markets across Europe are currently experiencing a paradigm shift,’ said Stéphane Theuriau, partner and head of BCP RE. ‘Demand from both tenants and investors is being fundamentally reshaped by new usages derived from the growing importance of sustainability and digitalisation, which is increasing the need for buildings that match new working and living concepts. This is where we are leveraging our operational experience to reposition existing properties and realise new development projects.’
BCPERE I seeks to acquire undermanaged, well-located assets with significant re-positioning or re-development potential, as well as operating platforms with opportunities to drive greater scale. The Fund has successfully deployed 40% of its capital across the UK, France, Germany, and Italy with themes underpinned by ESG initiatives, ranging from post-Covid office assets, residential developments, digitally managed short-stay apartments, logistics and industrial parks, and value-add repositioning of mixed-use assets.
The fundraising result comes shortly after the closing of BC Partners Credit Special Opportunities Fund II at $1.2 bn.
‘We are delighted and grateful for the strong support we received from our global base of institutional investors,’ commented Alexis Maskell, partner and global head of Investor Relations at BC Partners. ‘We believe the success of the fundraise highlights the deep asset-level knowledge and strong operational expertise of the BCP RE team, underpinned by the track record of the founding partners in deploying a similar value-add strategy at their prior firm.’
Under the leadership of Stéphane Theuriau, BC Partners launched its real estate business in 2018 together with industry veterans, Laurian Douin and Thibault Lauprêtre. The 3 founding partners have built out a team of 13 professionals, including a differentiated in-house development capability.