A €1.2 billion final close for a real estate fund in July may signal an approaching end to Europe’s fundraising drought. It also reflects how and where some institutions expect to generate returns since the market slump of 2022–2024.
BlackRock’s Europe Property Fund VI is the latest in a family of value-added funds with a mandate to develop, recapitalise, reposition and rebuild assets. Global co-head of real estate Thomas Mueller-Borja, who co-manages the fund, describes market conditions as “one of the best buying opportunities for clients in over a decade”.
Since early 2022, real estate fund managers have struggled to raise equity. Institutions have been deterred by a 25 percent slide in European property values, as central banks rapidly hiked interest rates. The transaction market’s slowdown made it harder for managers to return capital to investors, many of whom also found themselves heavily overallocated to real estate.
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