CBRE Global Investors has secured an additional commitment of €200 million from South Korea’s Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA) to build a diversified European real estate portfolio. After leverage, this equity commitment provides additional investment capacity in excess of €400 million.
POBA first awarded CBRE Global Investors and IGIS Asset Management a mandate to invest in European real estate in 2016, and this latest round of equity represents the third tranche of capital committed to the separate account. Initially established with a focus on offices, the mandate has been expanded to include residential, logistics and alternative sectors such as healthcare (life sciences) and data centres, as well as listed real estate securities.
“This latest equity commitment from POBA is not only a strong vote of confidence for the enduring appeal of European real estate, but also demonstrates the strength of our investor relationship through our appointment as trusted partner. Our mandate from POBA is the first discretionary separate account for direct real estate investments in Europe from a South Korean institutional investor, which gives us the unique ability to deploy capital quickly on their behalf, with certainty of execution,” commented Je wook Joung, Portfolio Manager at CBRE Global Investors. “Expanding our investment focus to include other sectors, we are actively seeking investments to build a well-diversified portfolio producing secure cashflow for our client and its members. We very much look forward to continuing our work with POBA to grow the portfolio. “
Bas Tiemstra, Head of Separate Accounts, Continental Europe & APAC Inbound, CBRE Global Investors said: “We are seeing increasing demand from investors such as POBA for more holistic investment solutions across both regions and sectors. This ranges from direct real estate mandates to closed and open-ended funds as well as separate accounts for global listed real estate and infrastructure strategies.”
