The vehicle has now invested 150 million of the 300 million euros that MAPFRE, its German partner and other institutional investors committed
MAPFRE has acquired an office building in Luxembourg, currently home to the law firm Clifford Chance. Office space makes up 82 per cent of the 5,195-square-meter property, which is located in the heart of the city’s financial district and holds BREEAM sustainability certification.
The transaction, made through a share deal, i.e. the purchase of the company that owns the asset, was executed through the SIEREF-GLL fund launched with its fund management partner GLL Real Estate Partners (Macquarie Group). The agreement, signed in the first quarter of 2018, envisaged investing up to 300 million euros in premium offices in the main eurozone office markets within two to three years. Since then, 150 million has already been committed through the purchase of buildings in Paris, Hamburg, Milan and Luxembourg. MAPFRE contributes 50 per cent of the fund’s capital, with the balance coming from a group of six institutional investors, mostly in the insurance sector, including GLL itself.
In funds-led real estate investment, MAPFRE also runs a joint venture with Swiss Life Asset Managers France, through which the 375 million euros committed for the purchase of prime properties in Paris has already been invested. In terms of alternative investment, alongside its commitments in the real estate market, MAPFRE launched two funds of funds this year with its partner Abante. The first is dedicated to private equity and involves an agreement with Altamar, and the other is an infrastructure fund built on underlying funds managed by Macquarie.
These latest investments reflect the insurance group’s strategy of diversifying its portfolio to include other types of financial assets, gradually increasing its alternative investments in a bid to protect profitability against the prevailing climate of historically low-interest rates. In the same vein, the Board of Directors authorized another 500 million euros in alternative investments in mid-2019, in addition to the 550 million already approved.
Notes to editors
MAPFRE is a global insurer, headquartered in Madrid, with a presence on five continents. It is the leading multinational insurance group in Latin America and one of the 10 largest European insurance firms by premium volume. MAPFRE has approximately 37,000 employees and 37 million customers worldwide. In 2016, its revenues exceeded €27 billion, and net profit stood at €775 million.
MAPFRE AM is a specialist in long-term savings solutions, with close to 60,000 million euros in managed assets worldwide. It has an investment team of more than 150 professionals who manage assets in 26 countries around the world. Its main areas of expertise are sovereign and corporate fixed income with an investment grade, and global equities with a value approach.
MAPFRE partnered with real estate expert GLL in 2018 to invest up to 300 million euros in prime office space in the Eurozone’s key markets. The investment focus is large cities in Germany and France, as well as other nearby markets such as Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan and Luxembourg.
The vehicle, which is open to other institutional investors from the insurance world, will be managed by GLL, which is one of the main investors in office buildings for insurance companies. The company has an asset volume of €7 billion, and a team of more than 110 professionals, with offices in 12 countries.
For further information please visit: www.mapfre.com
Ends/
Issued by:
Sam Shelton
Fortuna Asset Management Communications Ltd.
Tel +44 (0) 7540 336998
Email: sam@fortunaamc.co.uk