Empira Group launches €500m debt JV fund

The Empira Group, an investment manager for institutional real estate investments in German-speaking Europe, has launched its next real estate fund, Empira Real Estate Finance Fund IV, the company’s fourth debt fund.

“The new fund offers an innovative joint venture-approach,” explains Lahcen Knapp, CEO of the Empira Group. The product combines mezzanine capital with relatively low current interest rates and a share in the financed property. The fund’s volume is €500 million ($562 million) and a first loan has already been handed out.

The new product makes subordinated mezzanine loans and is targeted at developers in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Benelux region that are looking to purchase land or properties to develop residential or commercial projects. The fund seeks to acquire a 50 percent share in financed developments with a minimum total investment volume of €150 million ($169 million).

“Institutional investors benefit from the current