- Assets under management up 12 per cent on the previous year
- Realised transaction volume amounts to 2.4 billion euros
- Equity in the triple-digit million euro range raised from institutional investors
- Operator brand platform "360 Operator" grows to 11,000 units under operation
- Cooperations launched with module construction specialist Daiwa and Gulf Islamic Investments
- Award for most innovative AIM and top employer
• Realisiertes Transaktionsvolumen liegt bei 2,4 Milliarden Euro
• Eigenkapital im dreistelligen Millionenbereich bei institutionellen Anlegern eingesammelt
• Betreibermarken-Plattform „360 Operator“ wächst auf 11.000 Units under Operation
• Kooperationen mit Modulbau-Spezialist Daiwa und Gulf Islamic Investments gestartet
• Auszeichnung als innovativster AIM sowie Toparbeitgeber
The Capital Bay Group, an internationally active investment, asset, property and facility manager and project developer for real estate of all types of use that is integrated at all stages of the value chain, recorded its most successful financial year since the company was founded in 2021. Assets under management increased by almost twelve per cent to around 7.5 billion euros in the past year. The transaction volume totalled 2.4 billion euros and a three-digit million euro amount of equity was raised from institutional investors and family offices. With a whole loan fund, a self-storage fund and a proptech fund, Capital Bay 2021 launched three investment vehicles for its institutional investors and family offices with a combined long-term target volume of EUR 1.8 billion. Capital Bay currently manages a total of 11 AIFs.
"Last year's success confirms our strategic direction," says George Salden, CEO of Capital Bay. "We offer international institutional investors comprehensive investment and asset management through the integration of our own operating companies and property and facility management. This makes us the one-stop-shop manager for our investors, responsible for the performance of their properties from start to finish."
2021 was once again dominated by the coronavirus, although the disruptions that affected the entire property market in 2020 were not repeated to the same extent and breadth in 2021," says Rolf Engel, CFO of Capital Bay. "However, due to the uncertainty of other asset classes, demand for core residential property in particular has increased among institutional investors over the course of the crisis. But alternative types of use such as serviced flats or retirement and care properties have also gained favour with investors and are increasingly establishing themselves as a genuine alternative to the traditional asset classes of residential, office and retail. We expect this trend to continue in 2022 due to rising demand, persistently low interest rates, the high inflation rate and a lack of investment alternatives"
Successful launch of the Whole Loan Fund
The "Capital Bay Europe Secured Whole Loan Fund" was launched in August 2021 and started with an initial portfolio of financing commitments for project developments and investments in London and other major British cities with a loan volume of almost €400 million.
"Due to uncertainties in the market and regulations such as Basel III, demand for whole loan constructs from alternative lenders is increasing compared to traditional bank financing," says Rüdiger Kimpel, Head of Global Sales at Capital Bay. "We are tapping into this demand with our fund. We are expecting large-volume investments in the first quarter. Further financing totalling 200 million euros has already been secured by Capital Bay for additional properties in the UK, which will be brought into the fund at the end of the quarter. With an invested volume of around 600 million euros, the fund will then be one of the five largest whole-loan funds in Europe."
The target volume of the "Capital Bay Europe Secured (CBES)Whole Loan Fund" is EUR 1.5 billion. In addition to projects in the UK, construction projects in France, Germany and Italy are also to be financed.
New co-operations: Modular construction and senior living properties
For Capital Bay, 2021 was also characterised by strategic partnerships. In October, Capital Bay entered into a strategic partnership with Daiwa House Modular Europe, the global market leader for industrial modular construction. The aim is to jointly establish a platform for the industrial production and distribution of prefabricated building modules and entire micro flats, with the modules and finished buildings being sold to the operator brands of the Capital Bay Group's exclusive cooperation partner, 360 Operator GmbH, as well as to European third-party customers. The modules are to be produced in a joint gigafactory, which is scheduled for completion in 2024. The use of prefabricated building modules can save 30 to 50 per cent of construction time on site and significantly reduce construction costs. The modular buildings also fulfil the KfW Efficiency House Standard 40 and the construction concept is fully ESG-compliant.
The establishment of a joint venture with Gulf Islamic Investments (GII) was announced at the end of August 2021. The aim is to establish an investment platform regulated in Luxembourg that will launch various funds for European senior living properties in Germany and Europe with a focus on core-plus and value-add strategies. This step will make the European property market accessible to investors from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region) and at the same time create the urgently needed supply for this type of use.
Plattform für Betreibermarken“360 Operator” wächst stark
With 360 Operator GmbH, Capital Bay has an exclusive cooperation partner that brings together a total of ten operator brands on one macro platform. The brands include Curata, Penta Hotels and Staytoo, among others, and the operator concepts range from daycare centres to student accommodation, serviced flats and care facilities. The number of units operated grew to a good 11,000 in 2021, representing growth of 35 per cent compared to 2020. The portfolio was expanded primarily through acquisitions in the senior and student living segment, with plans to increase the number of managed units to 15,000 in the medium term through further active acquisitions.
Awardals innovativster AIM und Top Company 2022
Capital Bay's approach of breaking new ground in investment management and designing and launching innovative, forward-looking investment products for institutional investors was recognised in October by Global Brands Magazine with the Brand Award in the "Most Innovative Investment Manager Germany" category. This makes Capital Bay the only German investment manager besides Deutsche Bank to win an award in the "Investment Awards" category.
Capital Bay has also been recognised as a "Top Company 2022" by Europe's largest employer rating platform kununu. This puts the Berlin-based company in the top five per cent of the best-rated employers on the platform. "The satisfaction of our employees is very important to us, because we can only achieve our ambitious goals as a close-knit team," says Rolf Schneider, COO of the Capital Bay Group. "We are therefore all the more delighted to be recognised as one of the top employers."
