Growing abrdn’s presence in European real estate

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the abrdn Pan European Residential Fund (aPER) successfully raised €100 million through three separate commitments from new and existing European institutional investors. This commitment underscores the robust and continued investor interest in the European living sector.

One of the largest residential portfolios in Europe, aPER currently includes 49 assets in 30 cities across 10 countries. Since launch in 2018, aPER’s management team has screened European residential deals worth approximately €300 billion and successfully executed residential transactions worth €4.2 billion. So why the European market and what makes a project worth considering?

Strong demand and supply side fundamentals

aPER’s most recent acquisitions were of two assets in France and Belgium. Both markets display two of the key factors attractive to investors – they are in developed markets and in prime locations within those markets. As deputy fund manager, Stela Nesheva commented after aPER’s fundraise, both the quality and quantity of housing are key considerations:

An additional consideration is property age, 80% of aPER’s portfolio was built or was being built from 2018 onwards, positioning it to stay fit for the future.

Affordability, accessibility and amenity

Marc Pamin, aPER’s lead fund manager believes the key to successful residential property investing is to deliver value by investing in “triple A” locations and diversifying across living segments:

Capitalising on demand

Acknowledging investor demand and the positive structural drivers in the market, aPER has set a target to more than double in size to approximately €4 billion GAV in the medium term. Read more about aPER and its most recent investments here.