Urban Partners holds €263m third close for Nordic fund

Urban Partners has raised a further €263 million ($286 million) for its open-end fund Nrep Income+, taking total equity raised to date to €1.85 billion ($2 billion).

Nrep Income+ is an open-end fund that has a long-term, core-plus investment strategy mainly focused on modern logistics facilities, residential for rent, and care homes in the Nordics.
The largest-ever Nordic core-plus fund, Nrep Income+ responds to a clearly identified and significant opportunity across a region that, despite the rapidly changing global environment, is continuously benefiting from macroeconomic trends such as increasing population growth, urbanization, GDP growth and strong public finances. As a result, the fund provides investors with access to a high-quality and diversified portfolio of real estate assets which deliver a robust income profile.

“Nrep Income+ is well-positioned to capture opportunities arising from positive macro-economic trends in the Nordics, particularly as we see markets stabilizing following the turmoil of the last few years,” said Rune Kock, CEO, Nrep. “Our qualified €380 million [$412 million] pipeline confirms our strategies are supported by strong demand and market fundamentals and, combined with our focus on transforming high emitting buildings while leveraging the team’s expertise in understanding tenants’ needs, we see great potential for both decarbonization and making a real difference to people’s lives.”

Since the fund’s inception in 2020, Nrep has committed to close to 100 assets across 36 transactions, with the perpetual nature of the fund allowing these investments to be very long term in nature. Highlights include the portfolio acquisition of 13 elderly care homes for approximately €200 million ($217 million) in Sweden and the off-market acquisition of the Nordic Swan Ecolabel certified residential project in Stockholm, which has had its operational emissions significantly decreased via a solar and geothermal hybrid solution. With renewable energy essential to Nrep’s decarbonization efforts, the fund’s rooftop solar panels are already producing 9,000 megawatt hours (MWh) annually, with further installations planned. A last-mile logistics investment located outside Oslo exemplifies Nrep’s decarbonization efforts, as the project is being transformed to reach net-zero operational greenhouse gas emissions.

Claus Mathisen, CEO of Urban Partners, said, “The successful third closing of Nrep Income+ is testament to investor trust in our market-leading approach to generating value and driving derisked income through our operating platforms and portfolio management. The fund’s growth is being supported by an increasing number of investors who share our perspective on the attractive backdrop for investments in structurally supported, inflation-protected and noncyclic segments. This, along with the fund’s long-term outlook and low financing levels, enables us to capitalize on attractive opportunities in the market.”