Partners Group, one of the world's largest private markets firms, and Empira Group, a vertically integrated real estate investment manager and Partners Group company, today announce the launch of the Empira Pan-European Living Strategy. The new closed-end real estate strategy targets €1 billion in equity commitments .
The strategy aims to build a diversified portfolio of institutional-quality living assets in major European metropolitan regions. In particular, the aim is to benefit from the structural housing shortage, the increasing demand for professionally managed rental housing and the increasing institutionalisation of the European living sector.
The fund is managed by an integrated investment team that combines the complementary competencies of Partners Group and Empira, combining pan-European investment expertise with local capabilities in sourcing, project development, construction, and asset and property management. Partners Group and Empira's expanded real estate platforms collectively comprise more than 265 real estate professionals in 19 locations worldwide , managing properties with a total gross asset value of approximately $57 billion.
Exploiting Europe's structural potential in the living sector
The launch comes at a time of far-reaching structural changes in European housing markets. In many major metropolitan regions, the supply of housing has not been able to keep pace with demand. At the same time, the declining affordability of home ownership and demographic changes mean that more and more households are opting for or relying on renting.
It is estimated that Europe needs around 9.6 million additional housing units. At the same time, the number of long-term tenants continues to grow, supporting the demand for professionally managed and energy-efficient rental housing.
At the same time, the share of institutional owners in the European residential real estate market remains comparatively low. The European living sector is highly fragmented and characterised by different regulatory frameworks and a high level of operational complexity. This creates opportunities for investment platforms with local market knowledge and comprehensive implementation skills along the entire value chain.
The strategy has been developed to capitalize on these opportunities through a flexible investment approach that includes multifamily housing, purpose-built student housing ("PBSA"), senior living, single-family homes and other forms of housing .
A diversified pan-European strategy
The Empira Pan-European Living Strategy will invest 100% in living assets in European metropolitan regions, with Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain being the core markets. The aim is to build a diversified portfolio through strategic acquisitions, selective project developments, active asset management and tactical investment opportunities.
The strategy is expected to comprise around 20 to 30 investments , diversified by geography, living subsegment and investment type. The exemplary portfolio structure envisages around 50% multi-family living and 50% other living strategies, including PBSA, senior living and single-family homes.
The strategy pursues various approaches to value creation, including active asset management, operational improvements, refurbishment and repositioning, selective project developments, and the energy-efficient modernisation of existing residential properties. In addition, the investment approach offers the flexibility to unlock opportunities through structured capital solutions.
The fund is targeting equity commitments of €1 billion, a net IRR of more than 12% and a maximum leverage at portfolio level of 60% loan-to-cost during the investment period . The fund's initial maturity is seven years, subject to appropriate extension options.
Bundling of the European living competencies of Partners Group and Empira
The launch brings together Partners Group's long-standing real estate investment capabilities with Empira's vertically integrated European residential real estate platform.
The joint real estate platform of Partners Group and Empira comprises more than 250 investment professionals in 15 locations in Europe, with a European real estate CLA of more than 25 billion euros and a European living CLA of around 6.9 billion euros. The platform has exposure to more than 630 living properties in Europe.
The joint European Living Platform covers the entire investment lifecycle and has specialized competencies in the areas of investment management, fund management, debt solutions, construction and development management, as well as asset and property management. This vertically integrated model is intended to enable local sourcing competencies while allowing the team to actively manage the key value levers over the entire life cycle of an asset.
Lahcen Knapp, Founder and Chairman of Empira Group, says:
"The launch of the Empira Pan-European Living Strategy is an important next step in the further development of our European residential real estate platform. Empira has built local investment and operational capabilities in the housing markets over more than two decades. By joining forces with Partners Group, we can now combine these capabilities with a truly global investment platform.
Living is fundamentally a local and operationally intensive asset class. Successful investing requires not only the identification of attractive markets and assets, but also the people and skills on the ground to implement the business plan. Our joint platform offers us exactly this depth in the areas of sourcing, financing, project development, construction and asset management. We are convinced that this will give us a significant competitive advantage if we scale the strategy across Europe."
Henrik Orrbeck, Managing Director and Global Co-Head Real Estate at Partners Group, says:
"European Living represents one of the most attractive structural opportunities in the real estate sector today. In many major European cities, housing supply has not been able to keep pace with demand. At the same time, demographic changes, declining affordability of residential property and changing consumer preferences are leading to a further increase in demand for high-quality rental housing.
By combining Partners Group's investment capabilities and extensive experience in the European real estate market with Empira's vertically integrated residential real estate platform, we believe we are uniquely positioned to capture this opportunity at scale. The strategy has been designed to invest flexibly across geographies, living sub-segments and investment types. This allows us to target capital where we see the most attractive relative value potential."
Investments across the entire living spectrum
In portfolio construction, the fund is expected to favour existing, income-generating investments, while retaining the flexibility to pursue project development opportunities, provided that supply constraints and local market fundamentals support attractive risk-adjusted returns.
Investment opportunities are assessed as part of a bottom-up underwriting process. The joint platform uses its local networks across Europe to identify both on-market and off-market opportunities. Partners Group and Empira have already jointly acquired more than 37,000 residential units in more than 135 individual transactions , providing an established sourcing and execution basis for the strategy.
The strategy will also address, where appropriate, the energy efficiency of existing European housing stock. Around 75% of buildings in the EU have low energy efficiency. At the same time, increasingly stringent European energy efficiency requirements lead to both investment needs and potential opportunities to reposition existing residential properties.
Building a scalable European living platform
The Empira Pan-European Living Strategy represents the next step in the joint effort of Partners Group and Empira to build a scalable European living platform that covers different types of housing and risk-return profiles.
The joint platform currently comprises more than 14,500 residential units in more than 630 assets and projects with a CLA of around 6.9 billion euros and includes investments in multi-family housing, build-to-rent, student housing, senior living, co-living and other housing strategies.
Fundraising for the strategy is to begin after the launch. A first closing is scheduled for the third quarter of 2027.
