News and Press releases

Munich, 19 May 2020. AEW, a leading global real estate investment and asset management platform, has completed the second disposal on behalf of Europe Value Partners (“EVP” or the “Fund”), its pan-European value add strategy. The office asset was acquired in December 2018 in a JV with Catella Asset Management Germany (CAM) and was sold to a private German investor.

Catella has acted as M19 Invest Ky’s financial advisor in the arrangement of 15 million euro junior financing as a part of the refinancing of Isku Center in Lahti.

Catella Research presents a report on COVID-19 implications on the European Real Estate Markets.

Munich, 8 May 2020. Munich-based investment manager Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG) has added a new residential project in Rotterdam to the portfolio of Sarasin Sustainable Properties - European Cities (SSP).  SSP fund is a product of Catella Real Estate AG in cooperation with the Bank J. Safra Sarasin. The seven-storey Asterlo tower comprises 51 apartments and is located in the heart of Zuidwijk, a suburb in the south of the Dutch port city, close to the Feijenoord soccer stadium.

Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) and Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG) have acquired two residential real estate developments in Berlin and Madrid via their AIFM platform for a total of €75 million. These two transactions increase the total investment volume of their Catella Wohnen Europa (CWE) Fund to over €975 million.

Munich, May 5, 2020 - Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG) has engaged Wolfgang Holzberger and is expanding its investment and fund strategy to include logistics and industrial real estate: As of May 2020, the 50-year-old Holzberger will take over as Head of Logistics Investment Management, building up a logistics team at the Munich-based investment manager.

Catella Asset Management Oy acted as Mutual Pension Insurance Company Varma’s advisor in the sale of a property in Metsälä, Helsinki. The lettable area of the asset is ca. 3.200 square metres. The total transaction price was ca. € 3 million.

The current corona pandemic has impacted many investors, and Catella Hedge is one of many market participants that has had a rough ride in the volatile market. But there are good foundations for a comeback, Catella portfolio managers tell during a Catella Fonder podcast.

Many investors have taken the view that residential property will be more resilient to the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak than other asset classes, and the sector has continued to be relatively busy, with a number of large deals being completed in recent weeks, Xavier Jongen, managing director at Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM), told a webinar hosted by REFI Europe last week. CRIM has itself been raising capital, he noted, adding that investor appetite for residential assets remains strong. “We’ve raised a little more than €300 million in the last four weeks and inflows precisely matched our expected pipeline, despite the current crisis.” Affordable housing was already a big topic before the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis and Jongen believes that focus will intensify as a result of the pandemic which has put the spotlight on the needs of nurses, police, public transport employees and other low-income front-line workers. But although residential is being seen as a safe haven, it is not all plain sailing for the sector, he added, pointing out that the distribution channel of the crisis affects residential cash flows. “The pandemic will prompt a re-evaluation of approaches to affordability and sustainability, but also to co-living,” he concluded.

The French cities of Dijon and Saint-Etienne have become the first metropolises to approve the development of highly sustainable ‘energy-positive’ residential towers under a €2.0 billion pan-European investment programme launched by Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) and France’s building engineering design company Elithis.

Catella acted as an advisor to a private owner in the divestment of an office property in the address Laturinkuja 6 in the Vallikallio area in Espoo.

Catella Fonder ("Catella") has had an increased focus on sustainability during the last years. We have taken a number of small steps that together lead to a big leap. Today sustainability is a natural part of our daily work and in our all products. We have a common base in what we avoid and what issues we focus on in our investment decisions and in our owner dialogues with the companies.

Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management’s (‘CRIM’) CER III Fund has received €125 million from two new institutional investors; €100 million from a large Dutch pension fund and €25 million from a leading German fund manager, bringing its total capital commitments to €235 million. These latest commitments bring the Fund closer to its mid-term target of €1 billion in assets under management on the way to establishing a multi-billion open-ended investment vehicle across European residential real estate markets. The successful double-signing follows a first close in May 2019 when CRIM’s maiden pan-European residential fund opened to international investors. CRIM already manages the €1.5 billion Catella European Residential Fund and €900 million Catella Wohnen Europa Fund open to German investors in comparable strategies.

Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) and Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG) via its AIFM platform, have acquired three innovative residential projects in Vienna and Vitoria, northern Spain, and Hamburg for approximately €147 million. Together, the three transactions boost the total investment volume of their flagship Catella European Residential (CER) Fund to around €1.5 billion.  

Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) and Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG) via its AIFM platform, have acquired three innovative residential projects in Vienna and Vitoria, northern Spain, and Hamburg for approximately €147 million. Together, the three transactions boost the total investment volume of their flagship Catella European Residential (CER) Fund to around €1.5 billion.

Catella acted as private investor’s financial advisor in the purchase of an office property in the Tampere city centre. The seller of the property was another private investor.

In the April issue of CREDI, the Main index decreases from 49.5 to 33.7 indicating the worst credit market sentiment since the inception of CREDI in 2012. Meanwhile, market capitalisation for property equities decline sharply as investors fear Covid-19 outbreak.

Catella Hedgefond aims to deliver a return over time of around 3-5 percent, at current interest rates. Over time, the risk should be below 3 percent measured as standard deviation and the return should be generated regardless of market performance.

The economic phase that lies ahead of us will undoubtedly become more volatile and recessive, and analysts will again discuss the "V", "U" or "L" formations that pictorially describe this economic environment in the coming weeks. We also like to work with pictures and have therefore analysed the German office property markets again in our Office Market Map 2020. 

yet it is debt that is now crushing many companies and corporate valuations. World equity markets are being battered by turbulence of historical magnitude, and there is a huge flow of information about the decline. The news is largely dominated by the stock market, and events in the fixed income market are not being scrutinised to the same extent. Most investors are also a little less familiar with how this part of the securities market actually works, especially during times of crisis like this. We will highlight some of the challenges that the fixed income market is facing, as well as the opportunities that follow in the wake of a crisis.

It has been only just over two weeks since we wrote our comments on February, but it feels more like two years! Concerns about the spread and impact of the coronavirus have accelerated day by day and, despite being met with both monetary and fiscal stimulus, the world's stock markets have stuck to their trajectory - downward.

It was only a month or so ago that positive figures were released showing unemployment in the EU and the US was lower than for many years, and the stock market sentiment for 2020 remained upbeat. Few people regarded the coronavirus, which had already impacted China, as a major threat to the market. The uncertainty today is extremely high, to say the least, and the consequences of the coronavirus are difficult to exaggerate.

The world around us is currently changing dramatically, but continuity should also determine our future actions. One component of our claim to information on the markets for you is to continue with what is tried and tested. Once again, Catella Research has analysed the commercial residential real estate market of 59 cities in 19 European countries. 

Catella Asset Management Iberia has advised on the purchase of two buildings for the residential rental market for 25 million euros on behalf of the Fund "Catella European Residential" (CER), managed by Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM). 

Much, perhaps too much, is currently being written about the German residential real estate markets, but with less substantial content. With our annual residential property map on rents & yields at 81 locations, we would like to contribute a little more substance in the form of figures & values to the charged discussion on rent caps & co.

In a particularly shaky market situation, and with great concern among investors, the world's stock exchanges have recently fallen steeply.Catella Fonder brought together Thomas Elofsson, from the fund company's fixed income management, and Anders Wennberg, from the equities side, to try and provide some clarity on the current scenarios.

In spite of the initial reports of the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in China, Nordic stocks (MSCI Nordic total return) began February with particular strength and were up 6% at their peak, primarily driven by a positive reception for the majority of the interim reports.

Munich, 05.03.2020 Catella Real Estate AG has acquired a residential and commercial building in the city centre of Fürth for its special fund "Catella Bavaria", which focuses on the state of Bavaria. The special fund, which was launched at the end of 2016, now manages assets under management with a value of more than EUR 100 million.

Autokiinteistöt Laakkonen Oy has sold seven car retail properties to Swedish real estate investment company Fastighets AB Balder. Properties are located in Tampere, Lahti, Kuopio, Joensuu, Hämeenlinna and Hyvinkää. The total lettable area of the properties is approximately 50 000 square meters of which almost 40 percent is in Tampere. All of the Properties are let to K Caara.

Catella APAM and Patron Capital have completed the sale of its holding in Arlington Business Park, Theale to CapitaLand for £129.25 million.

Catella acted as Oy Matkahuolto Ab’s financial advisor in the divestment of a property portfolio consisting 13 assets in several locations across Finland. Most of the assets are commercial premises in travel centres and bus stations. The buyer is a group of private investors.

Catella Corporate Finance Stockholm AB acted as advisor to Skanska Fastigheter on the divestment of the Solna United office property in Arenastaden.

Catella acted as an advisor to a company managed by FinCap in the sale of private clinic and hospital property in the city centre of Pori. The property is fully leased to Mehiläinen with a long lease agreement. The buyer is Evli Healthcare I Ky, which is a healthcare fund managed by Evli Fund Management Company.

Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) has significantly expanded the portfolio of the Catella European Student Housing Fund II (CESHF II) with three acquisitions of student residences in Austria, France and Spain totalling €55 million.

Once again, a look back at the outstanding performance of the real estate markets meets an economy that has been running smoothly so far in the first quarter of 2020, but also shows signs of a more cautious approach.

Riskinformation EN SSAB is facing a major transition. The company, which until now has emitted the most carbon dioxide in Sweden, is to become carbon neutral. Key to this will be a complete change in the way its steel is manufactured. This was revealed when SSAB CEO Martin Lindqvist joined the Catella Fonder podcast together with Nordea sector analyst Christian Kopfer and Catella Fonder fund manager Martin Nilsson.

Risk information With less than two months left, 2019 has so far been a really strong stock market year. The Stockholm stock exchange’s broad OMXSPI index is up around 25 percent since the start of the year, and among the gems that have sparkled especially brightly are the market’s many small companies. How does Catella Småbolagsfond go about picking its stocks, what does a well-composed portfolio look like and, not least, which sectors and companies are particularly hot right now and for 2020? Forest products, selected health care and technology, and really good corporate management and reliable owners – this is a brief summary of the wish list of Martin Nilsson and Henrik Holmer, the managers of Catella Småbolagsfond.

In recent months, we have been reading a lot about increasing geopolitical risks on the markets. This is how it is felt, or at least this impression is reinforced, if you read the headlines superficially. Are the risks really getting bigger?

The Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management GmbH (CRIM) has expanded the portfolio of the Catella Modernes Wohnen mutual fund to 8 properties via the KVG platform Catella Real Estate AG (CREAG) by purchasing a project development in Braunschweig for EUR 20 million. Catella Modernes Wohnen focuses on modern forms of living in German and European growth regions.

Investment market still active Property trade’s transaction volume remains strong despite last year’s decrease from 2018 to circa EUR 6.3 billion. This is partially because there were no billion-euro transactions in 2019 as opposed to previous years. However, international investors continue to find Finland still attractive. In 2019, Finland gained property investments worth EUR 3.1 billion, which is circa 49% of all investments.

Catella acted as OP’s Real Estate Fund Finland III Ky’s advisor in the sale of a residential development property in Helsinki inner city.

Niam and Catella Asset Management have agreed to co-operate in the sales and leasing management of Nordic Tower Properties portfolio owned by Partners Group and managed by Niam. The portfolio consists of 42 properties owned by five different companies with a total leasable area of over 155,000 m². The portfolios assets are located in growth centers and smaller locations around Finland. Catella Asset Management will be responsible for the development of the assets according to business plans, as well as sales and leasing in the coming years.

Catella Corporate Finance has acted as exclusive financial advisor to NREP within strategic debt advisory. The mandate has comprised a market study and subsequent successful raising of alternative debt financing.

Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management GmbH (CRIM) achieved an overall performance of 11.3% in 2019 for its specialist-focused  European Student Housing Fund (CESHF), an open-ended investment vehicle  for institutional investors. The strong investment returns last year were generated through an active portfolio management strategy. That included the sale of a property in Dresden for a significant capital gain and the acquisition of an asset in Vienna, which added a sixth country to the Fund‘s international portfolio.

The stock market defied gravity in 2019 and rose by almost 35 percent, which is the highest annual return in 10 years. Climbing a wall of worry is an old saying on Wall Street that describes how a strong stock market can handle or even be spurred on by bad news. This describes 2019 very well. 

Riskinformation EN The stock market defied gravity in 2019 and rose by almost 35 percent, which is the highest annual return in 10 years. Climbing a wall of worry is an old saying on Wall Street that describes how a strong stock market can handle or even be spurred on by bad news. This describes 2019 very well. The end of 2018 struck a dull note as stock exchanges fell steeply right up until Christmas, and the market worried about a slowdown in the global economy on the back of a trade war and rising interest rates. However, thanks to a U-turn by the Federal Reserve in a very final days of 2018, a striking reversal of the trend set the scene for a fantastic year for stock markets.

Catella acted as Nordika’s advisor in the acquisition of a landmark office property in the Helsinki inner city.