Signature Capital has launched a €200m (£135.4m) German fund targeting Irish private investors looking to invest in Germany.
The company, headed by former investment bankers Ciaran McNamara and Enda Woods, has raised around €50m (£33.8m) of equity capital from private Irish clients. McNamara and Woods will co-invest in the fund and with gearing plan to create a portfolio of more than €200m (£135.4m).
The fund will buy assets in German cities which have sustainable bases in industry, education and infrastructure such as Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Essen and Cologne. More than half the fund will be invested in retail or mixed-use properties with a high retail element. It will focus on prime high street shops, shopping centres and established retail parks.
Signature Capital said it was already in advanced negotiations on a number of properties for this venture. The average target yield for the investment is 7%, producing a potential yearly compound return on equity of more than 16%. The closing date for investors is January next year and the fund will have a five to seven year life.