Azora has raised €270 million in equity commitments from a sovereign wealth fund for its new south European-focused multi-strategy vehicle targeting investment across real estate sectors including leisure.
With an investment horizon of between five to ten years, the new vehicle has been launched to target a range of opportunities across the entire real estate sector, including those in the traditional segments of offices, logistics and retail as well as in other emerging sectors such as residential asset classes, data centres, agriculture and leisure.
This is the third dedicated multi-sector strategy Azora has launched in Europe, the first being the €1.1 billion Hispania SOCIMI, which it launched in 2014 and sold to Blackstone in 2018, realising a net IRR of 19 per cent. Subsequently, Azora created a fund using capital from its own balance sheet and Azora’s principals, which is now fully invested and has already generated an average return of 23 per cent on divestments to date.
Why it matters
Azora’s success in securing €270 million in equity commitments for its vehicle focused on south European real estate, including in the leisure sector, signifies investor confidence in the sector's recovery and future growth, despite the uncertain macroeconomic backdrop. Moreover, the fact that the commitment comes from a sovereign wealth fund indicates that large institutional investors see potential in the leisure sector.
What they said
Javier Rodríguez Heredia, managing partner of Azora's Real Estate Area said: “We have already identified a strong pipeline of opportunities across different markets and sectors and look forward to deploying this capital and generating returns on behalf of this investor.”
Cristina García-Peri, managing partner of strategy and corporate development added: “The €277 million we have raised from this sovereign wealth fund client for our latest European multi-strategy vehicle is a significant endorsement of our ability both in this respect and of how we are able to tailor vehicles to our clients’ requirements.”