2023-06-14 7:14 CET, Europe, Germany | Press release
The Catella Elithis Energy Positive Fund (CEEPF), the world’s first real estate investment vehicle to focus exclusively on energy-positive residential developments, has acquired 90 apartments and two office spaces in a tower project in Brest, Westcoast of France, for €26.7 million. The project is to be developed by French sustainable engineering company Elithis Groupe for Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM), the manager of CEEPF, and is expected to be completed in Q2 2025.
CEEPF invests as a ‘dark green’ Article 9 impact fund, under the EU’s Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), in the low-carbon Elithis towers, which produce more renewable energy from solar panels on the roofs and facades, along with innovative power from wind turbines, than the buildings and tenants consume. The Elithis Tower project in the harbor city of Brest will be realized at standard market construction costs.
Xavier Jongen, Managing Director, CRIM, said: “The momentum in the construction pipeline for the Elithis Fund continues to build and our project in Brest follows closely on the heels of two other energy-positive residential development investments we recently made in Mulhouse and Le Havre. Europe is redoubling efforts to secure its energy market resilience by reducing stress on national grids and Catella’s approach, in matching renewable energy supply to demand at the local level and also linking sustainability to affordability, is the most logical solution for meeting the great twin challenges of our age in decarbonization and societal fairness. Residents in the Elithis towers could totally or partially eliminate their energy bills and sustainably manage the energy consumption in their home environment, increasing household disposable income. Investors in CEEPF can also boost their climate and societal ESG returns without affecting the financial risk/return side of their ‘dual materiality’ investment balance sheets.”
The Elithis tower development comprises a diverse mix of apartments including two-, three-bedroom and four-bedroom units and a shared common area on the 17th floor with a garden. The office areas will be on the ground and 1st floor and there will also be a bike garage (195 bikes) and 105 car parking spaces. The tower will be completed with high quality interior finishings and offer exceptional views from its windows, which maximize natural lighting and ventilation. A proprietary ‘energy coach app’ helps tenants manage the efficiency of their overall household energy consumption and the building will achieve a top ‘A’ EPC efficiency performance rating.
The building will have a bioclimatic design with on-site renewable energy production of approximately 180,000 kWh through photovoltaic panels on the roof and façade and also wind power electricity generation. Any excess energy will be sold to the French national grid and the net revenue (after management costs) redistributed to tenants.
The Elithis project is located on the ‘right’ (west) bank of the Penfeld coastal river within a new mixed use ‘eco-district’ called Les Capucins that is being developed as an extension of Brest’s city center on the left bank of the waterway. Les Capucins has been undergoing major urban regeneration since 2015, with the development of around 600 new residential units, a hotel and office areas. Brest’s main railway station, with its high-speed rail link to Paris in around 3-1/2 hours, can be reached in under 20 minutes via public transport from the Elithis project location.
Thierry Bievre, Président, Elithis Groupe, concluded: “The Elithis Tower in Brest is our fifth project in partnership with Catella in France within just two years, despite the challenging conditions in the French construction sector, which have been amplified by high inflation. We have concretely demonstrated that it is possible to design and develop ultra-sustainable energy-positive comfortable homes at affordable rents, and at scale, for the same price as a standard sub-optimal building which doesn’t meet our exacting decarbonization and societal goals. The ESG bar has been raised for the real estate industry and the Elithis and Catella partnership will continue to lead the way with our plans to develop 100 energy-positive residential towers in France, and possibly across Europe, by 2030.”
About the Catella Elithis Energy Positive Fund
- Investments in energy-positive residential real estate in the European economic area with a focus on France.
- Reducing energy consumption and lowering greenhouse gas emissions of properties is the primary objectives of the fund's strategy alongside financial targets
- Creating and offering sustainable, high-quality, and affordable housing
About Catella Residential Investment Management GmbH (CRIM)
Catella launched its first European residential fund in 2007.The team also launched the first dedicated European Student Housing Fund in 2013. CRIM is a subsidiary of the Stockholm-based Catella Group and its residential real estate business comprises portfolio management, acquisitions, sales and asset management. CRIM manages and advises several funds and mandates and has assets under management of more than €7 billion across 10 European countries.
About Elithis Groupe
Based in Dijon, France, Elithis Groupe is a French building engineering consultancy and real estate development company. A pioneer in low carbon footprint and energy positive buildings, Elithis ranks among the leading players in the fields of building consulting engineering, sustainability, energy, carbon, and environmental efficiency.
With more than 25 years of experience, over 100 employees, and 2,500 projects, Elithis has a long track record in supporting construction and real estate companies with sustainable, competitive, and innovative solutions, bringing a holistic approach and guaranteeing increased energy savings on their building and renovation projects.
For more information, please contact:
Elithis Groupe:
Isabelle d’Halluin
Tel: +33 (0) 6 03 00 88 48
Email: idh@isabelledhalluin.com
Catella Residential Investment Management GmbH:
Stine Zöchling
Head of Marketing and PR European Residential
Office: +49 (0)30 887 285 29 76
Mobile: +49 (0)151 544 51 005
stine.zoechling[ at ]catella-residential.com
