EQT closes first real estate fund

EQT Partners has closed EQT Real Estate I fund, raising €420 million ($470 million). The fund was seeking to raise €500 million ($559 million).

The fund, which opened in July 2016, will invest in value-added real estate assets with a focus on repositioning high-yielding properties, predominantly in the office sector, in gateway cities in western Europe.

EQT Real Estate I will seek to make direct and indirect controlling investments in real estate assets, portfolios and operating companies that offer significant potential for value creation through repositioning, redevelopment, refurbishment and active management. The investments will typically range between €50 million ($56 million) and €200 million ($223.5 million).

Approximately 35 percent of the total commitments have already been invested in four assets. To date, four investments have been made across the fund’s core geographies, which include Rue Lauriston in central Paris, an office refurbishment project; Smart Parc in western Paris, a refurbishment project of two office buildings; Technologiepark Köln in Cologne, a portfolio of seven income-producing office assets to be repositioned; and Täby Terass in the Stockholm area, a residential scheme of studio apartments.

EQT is an alternative investments firm with approximately €36 billion ($40 billion) in raised capital across 23 funds.