M&G European Property Fund embarks on €85m French residential project

The €4.2 billion ($5 billion) M&G European Property Fund, managed by David Jackson and Simon Ellis, has made its first French private rented sector (PRS) acquisition in Clichy-la-Garenne, northwest Paris. Les Boréales — a 11,100-square-meter (119,479-square-foot) development was acquired for €85.3 million ($101.56 million) as part of the fund’s continued objective to increase residential exposure in Continental Europe.

M&G took this rare opportunity to fund the development of this prime residential asset in the Paris area, which sits in the global top tier of residential markets, given its size, affluence and supply/demand imbalance. Private-sector rental values have increased by 22 percent over the last 10 years and this buoyancy is expected to continue due to an ongoing housing shortage and steep rental costs in central Paris, which have been unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Affordability constraints in the central Paris have subsequently prompted famil