Mapletree Investments bets big on European office market

Singapore-based real estate asset manager Mapletree Investments is launching a European office fund.
The firm aims to raise a half billion euros, or around $606 million, for the Mapletreee Europe Income Trust and looks to reach that goal by the end of March, according to DealStreetAsia. Mapletree is targeting a 12 percent return on the fund.

Mapletree seeded the fund with seven of its European commercial properties, including three in the United Kingdom and three on the European continent. The firm owns more than 100 properties in Europe, including 10 office properties.

With the coronavirus pandemic squeezing landlords and driving down pricing, it’s a good time to buy. CBRE projects that office rents in the U.S. could fall by as much as 8 percent this year; some European markets could see a similar dip.

Mapletree has around $60.5 billion in assets under management and is also active across Asia, Australia, and the United States. Institutional investors including pension funds and insurance companies are a large source of investment.

In 2019, the firm made a push in the U.S. and European logistics sector with a $1.8 billion fund. That same year it also bought an apartment building in Chicago. [DealStreetAsia] — Dennis Lynch