GARBE, one of Europe’s leading real estate investment, project development and asset management firms, and Berkeley Investments (Berkeley), a real estate investment and project development firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, today announced the formation of a strategic joint venture. Under the terms of the agreement, the newly formed joint venture will create a platform for expansion into the U.S. markets with a focus on industrial, logistics, residential and life sciences properties, initially with a focus on the Boston region.
The partnership builds on more than two decades of business relationship between the shareholders of GARBE and Berkeley and represents a logical next step in their long-standing cooperation. Since GARBE’s existing shareholders have been invested in the Boston market together with Berkeley for more than 20 years, the joint venture translates a proven track record into a joint growth platform for the United States – the deepest and most liquid real estate market in the world.
“The expansion into the United States through this joint venture with Berkeley Investments is a milestone in GARBE’s evolution into a global real estate platform,” said Christopher Garbe, Managing Partner of GARBE. “Berkeley’s entrepreneurial culture, vertically integrated competencies and deep expertise in life sciences and urban residential and mixed-use development naturally complement our strengths across the Beds, Sheds and Infrastructure businesses. This partnership brings together two companies that share an entrepreneurial, alpha-oriented approach to real estate investing – and a shared shareholder history that underpins the trust and common direction at the core of this endeavor.”
The joint venture is designed to leverage the complementary strengths of both platforms. GARBE’s pan-European capital markets experience will be combined with Berkeley’s local market knowledge, expertise in construction and project development, and established track record across all U.S. real estate classes. Key strategic synergies include developing, structuring and capitalizing institutional-quality investment opportunities in high-growth U.S. markets.
“For over thirty years, our work has been based on the simple conviction that innovative design and in-depth local market expertise are the basis for sustainable value creation in the real estate industry. GARBE shares this philosophy. Their track record of building a leading European platform by combining institutional investment and entrepreneurial project development mirrors what we have created in Boston. Together, we can bring this approach to a much bigger stage across the United States,” said Young K. Park, president and founder of Berkeley Investments.
