www.wealthandfinance-news.com 32 Wealth & Finance International - October 2017 During Europa Capital’s 22-year history, the firm has raised nine real estate funds and committed to over 124 transactions totalling over €10.4 billion across 19 European countries, in both debt and equity strategies. Europa Capital has over 100 institutional investors from 17 countries, with over 35 having invested in two or more Europa Capital funds. Every successful business has targets it sets itself to reach, and Europa Capital is no different, seeking superior returns and creating excellent value for clients and partners. The firm achieves this through the execution of astute acquisition strategies, and active asset management in accordance with sound risk management, investment and ethical principles. Through its regional teams, Europa Capital offers complete pan-European coverage, and the team is constantly striving to build well diversified portfolios, aligning the interests of management teams and executive staff with those of its investors through co-investment and appropriate fee structures. The firm follows strict compliance and corporate governance procedures, aspiring to uphold high standards on environmental and sustainability matters. Approaching new projects and ventures are vital to any company’s success. Outlining the team’s goals, the firm has strategies for both growth and income. New projects bring about new opportunities, and so, regarding its growth strategies, Europa Capital identifies opportunities that, through active asset management, can be bought into the institutional market for disposal. Implementing this strategy, the firm focuses upon risk adjusted returns, with legal, physical, financial and corporate attributes of a potential acquisition in view. Keeping ahead of any developments within the industry, Europa Capital takes into account both the opportunity for value enhancement and trends which may lead to structural change in individual markets. For income strategies, Europa Capital identifies opportunities that can deliver a high and sustainable income return together with stable or growing capital values. The team believes that the key to sustainable returns is ensuring that the owner of the property understands what local occupiers want from their buildings, and delivers this to them on a consistent basis. Initially, Europa Capital has focused on UK Debt and Purpose Built Student Accommodation, but the firm continues to evaluate the market for further opportunities that display these characteristics. Working in such a competitive industry, the firm wants to differentiate itself from its competitors. There are many factors which give Europa Capital an advantage over its competitors, and all of these enable it to stand out in the industry, marking itself out as the best possible option for clients, starting with its experienced European based management team. Europa Capital’s investment strategy and execution is administered by the senior members of its management team. The management team members have an average of 23 years’ real estate industry experience and have worked at Europa Capital for over a decade. The wider team comprises qualified real estate professionals, with long experience in conducting European real estate business complemented by corporate finance, accounting and administration teams. Importantly, the firm has a proven two decades track record within the industry. The composite realised investment IRR for all pan-European funds is 15% and 1.6x equity multiple, after tax but before fund expenses, management fees and carried interest, as at 31 December 2016. Throughout its history, the firm has been building a network of partners locally, all of whom co-invest alongside Europa Capital’s funds. Subsequently, these partners enhance the firm’s local presence, and are able to advise on political, planning and Europa Capital is a real estate equity and debt fund manager focused solely on European property. We profile the firm as we look to explore the secrets behind its ongoing success. Capitalising on Real Estate Fundamentals 1710WF13 Firm: Europa Capital LLP Contact: Schalk Visser Email:
[email protected] Address: 15 Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8ER, UK Phone: +44 (0)20 7881 6855 Website: www.europacapital.com legal challenges, whilst also providing on-site management and off-market deal flow. Collaborating with its investors, the management team at Europa Capital is incentivised to produce the best possible solutions and services, and its interests are aligned with those of its partners, through individual equity co-invest commitments to funds. This is done via a co-investment partnership and wide sharing of the carried interest to professional staff throughout the whole team. Significantly, the strength of Europa Capital’s balance sheet is something which helps the firm set itself apart from other similar real estate fund firms. It is part of the Mitsubishi Estate Company group, with assets under management of over $26 billion as of 30 June 2017. The group is a strategic investor alongside management in Europa Capital’s investment management business and as such, Europa Capital benefits from reliable access to seed capital for its funds and other investment initiatives. Ultimately, a primary focus for Europa Capital over the next 3-5 years is the raising, investing and managing of real estate funds, including its longstanding series of pan-European value-add funds and targeted niche funds or segregated mandates focused on diverse income strategies. To date, these include the UK and Continental European debt strategies, European core-plus income-enhancement and student accommodation initiatives.