Stuttgart, February 16, 2023 – AIF Capital Group, a specialist in regulated alternative investment funds based in Stuttgart, Germany, made significant increases in both its real estate business and third-party services in 2022. Despite the difficult market environment in many respects, the Stuttgart-based company purchased 19 properties for more than EUR 290 million and increased its assets under management to a record level of 120 properties worth EUR 1.3 billion. The year-on-year increase also included significant value growth. AIF invested around EUR 70 million in the “Lebensquartiere I” fund alone, which was not launched until 2022 and invests in living and urban quarters with a focus on Germany. In addition, there are a further EUR 0.5 billion in assets under administration (AUA).
In the healthcare sector, AIF Capital Group set a transaction record last year and promptly responded to this by again expanding its fund portfolio with an Article 9 fund, which invests in healthcare real estate and continues to be available for subscription by institutional investors.
The company also pressed ahead with preparations for its first infrastructure fund. It is called AIF Wind Onshore I and is also designed as an Article 9 fund. The fund has currently been launched for distribution and is expected to reach its first closing in the first half of 2023. Already at the beginning of 2022, Dr. Sven Eggers, CEO of AIF Partner KVG, had announced that there would be impact funds in the renewable energy sector in the future. In addition to the fund for wind turbines, there are plans for an investment offering that invests in photovoltaic plants. For this product line AIF Capital had founded the sister company AIF Infrastructure last year.
Successful acquisition of asset management and reporting mandates
The company managed by Mario Caroli achieved significant growth in the service business for third parties in 2022. For example, his company took over reporting (including ESG reporting) and data management as AUA for all direct real estate portfolios with a volume of almost EUR 0.5 billion on behalf of a major German institutional investor. In addition, AIF Capital agreed an asset management mandate for seven nursing homes and one for four parking garages.
AIF Capital’s activity was also reflected in an increase in the number of employees to 50 (+6 compared to the end of 2021) and in two awards. At Expo Living & Care, the company secured second place in the Investor of the Year category. In the “Social Impact Investing Award 2022” organized by ICG and Immobilienmanager, AIF Capital was among the top 5.
For 2023, Dr. Sven Eggers expects market activity to be fragile, for example, in view of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan, and emerging recessionary trends in numerous European economies. “For institutional investors, who are expected to invest their investors’ money safely and at the same time profitably, 2023 will also be very challenging,” Eggers says. “Rather less liquid asset classes such as real estate and infrastructure may continue to struggle in the coming months. But we are convinced that with our clear product focus we can deliver attractive and sustainable fund offerings.”
Focus on existing assets in healthcare and residential – increasing attractiveness of parking garages
In the residential sector, AIF Capital 2023 focuses on opportunities in existing properties. Here, the investment manager pays particular attention to good locations with existing infrastructure (for short distances) and that the ancillary costs of the properties, keyword energy consumption, are manageable.
Daniel Wolf, Managing Director of AIF Management GmbH, has a very similar view of the market for healthcare real estate: “New developments and forward deals will be the exception because construction costs are high, rents are low and, on top of that, material and personnel costs have risen sharply,” he says. “However, because demand for senior properties in particular will increase due to demographics, we will remain active in this asset class, but will focus on existing properties in the short term. Particular buying opportunities could arise in larger portfolios and through the acquisition of operators and their holdings.”
The company sees great growth potential in the parking garage category, not only because of the charging stations to be retrofitted for e-mobility as a value driver. The slump in the Corona period has been overcome, demand for car parking spaces in cities continues to rise and investor interest is increasing, it said. In addition, AIF Capital expects rents for parking spaces to rise in the short and medium term. The reason: Many municipalities are reducing the number of parking spaces. As a result, the remaining spaces are likely to become much more expensive.
About AIF Capital Group
AIF Capital Group is a real estate manager and specialist in regulated alternative investment funds for institutional investors. As investor, trustee, KVG with BaFin license and asset manager, the company offers investors high-yield and sustainable real estate investments. The company is a member of the ECORE and ICG sustainability initiatives and is a signatory of the UN PRI. The group of companies was founded in 2006 in the private bank Ellwanger & Geiger and was fully acquired in 2017 as part of a management buyout. The company pursues the goal of making classic real estate asset management innovative and dynamic, while offering a high quality of service. The group employs around 50 people, has equity of 5.6 million euro and currently manages assets (AUM) worth around € 1.3 Billion.
Press Contact
Samira Roll
+49 711 490579-53
presse@aif.capital
