Hines tops €1 billion of equity commitments for HEPP fund

Hines reached over €1 billion of equity commitments from new and existing partners for its Hines European Property Partners fund (HEPP) in July, an achievement which according to the global real estate investor and manager is a sign of renewed confidence in the market.

“We have taken advantage of the shift in market conditions in Europe and tactically deployed significant capital over the last 12 months,” said Jorge Duarte, fund manager, HEPP. “Investors can see how the portfolio has been assembled so far, and that coming into the fund now means not only a short path to deployment but also gaining exposure to what are expected to be the best performing assets classes over the coming years.”

HEPP is Hines’ European flagship core-plus fund, a diversified open-ended, research-driven vehicle targeting strong risk-adjusted returns through superior asset selection and active management. Since launching in 2022, HEPP has attracted commitments from partners including major institutional investors and pension funds worldwide.

The fund focuses on good quality, substantially stabilised assets in key European markets with growth potential, combining Hines’ proprietary research framework with its execution platform to create a high-quality, income-producing portfolio. The HEPP investment strategy targets the major asset classes of industrial, living, retail and office sectors, in addition to emerging sectors such as data centres and senior living.

The portfolio is diverse: recent acquisitions for HEPP include the forward funding of the largest multifamily residential development for rent in Newcastle, a 260-bed purpose-built student development in Bristol, Hines’ first asset in Sweden (a logistics warehouse), and a solar-powered logistics warehouse in Italy. The strategy maximises value at the asset level through active management, also provided by Hines through its management services division.

“Investors recognise what are likely to be the best investment conditions for a core plus real estate fund since the Great Financial Crisis in 2008,” said Duarte. “We see no sign of this investor demand for the fund abating over the next 12 months. Our fundamental approach of acquiring attractively-priced, income-producing assets throughout Europe makes HEPP well positioned to outperform in current market conditions, which we expect to become the new normal.”

HEPP complements Hines’ existing European funds, the Hines European Core Fund (HECF), the firm’s open-ended core flagship vehicle, and the Hines European Real Estate Partners series, (HEREP III, HEVF1 and HEVF2) its closed-ended value add counterpart, which are now closed to new investors.