Civitas to double UK pipeline and expand further in Europe

Civitas Investment Management, the UK-based impact investor working across senior and specialist healthcare and education, is pushing ahead with its European expansion and targeting Germany and the Nordics.

Andrew Dawber, Founding Partner, Civitas IM

This is in addition to its strong ambitions to continue growing its market-leading business in the UK, where around 2.5 million people are in need of supported housing. Civitas has a £100 million-plus pipeline in the UK which Andrew Dawber, the firm’s founding partner, told Real Asset Insight in an interview that it “could easily double”.

Dawber’s team “is currently discussing these opportunities with a number of third-party investors who are keen to increase their exposure to this sector and invest alongside us,” he said.

“Germany is also an amazing opportunity,” Dawber added. “Senior care is better funded than in the UK. We want to expand considerably in Europe, and we could invest €5 billion in Germany alone.”

Civitas is currently recruiting for its new office in Germany, a market it entered in October last year. Its first investment was the €300 million acquisition of a 3,000+ bed portfolio of 26 elderly care and assisted living homes, mainly in Berlin and Hamburg, from Vonovia SE, the largest listed residential landlord in Europe.

“Germany is a very fragmented market and there is a lot of consolidation to come, so we see many opportunities”, Dawber said. “We’re open to off-market deals and ready to buy portfolios. But we need German people on the ground, which is why we are recruiting.”

Civitas has also entered into a 25-year agreement with Alloheim Senioren-Residenzen SE, Germany’s number one care operator, which will continue to deliver care and support for residents of the 26 homes in the portfolio.  

The investment in Germany, made on behalf of the Civitas European Social Infrastructure Fund, allows Civitas to exploit “its long track record and expertise in the community care sector” and takes its total European capital commitment to over €450 million.

Civitas plans to “significantly expand” its European presence and is seeking to deploy up to €1 billion into investments in “high-quality assets and locations with strong operators” in the short to medium term.  

Civitas first set up a European team three years ago and did its first deal in Sweden in 2022, buying a care-based housing operator in Gothenburg, the country’s second city, for €50 million.

“We have a great team in Sweden, we also own the operating business and it has been very successful”, Dawber said. “We will expand there and we are also looking at other parts of the Nordics. There are good opportunities in Spain as well, and the Italian market is very interesting. But ultimately our expansion in Europe will depend on what investors want.”

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