Nuveen Real Estate launches its first pan-European debt strategy

• Fourth iteration of the firm’s European core-plus debt strategy and the first to target opportunities across continental Europe
• Initial capital of c. €150 million secured from several German institutional investors alongside TIAA
• Strategy will focus on whole and mezzanine loans secured on European real estate

Nuveen Real Estate, one of the largest investment managers in the world, has completed the first close of its fourth debt strategy in the European commercial real estate debt series, having secured c. €150 million in initial commitments.

Several German institutional investors have committed to the first close, joined by Nuveen’s parent company, TIAA. The strategy is targeting a total capital raise of €500 million.

This launch represents Nuveen’s first pan-European debt strategy in the series. It builds on the successful implementation of the regional commercial real estate debt strategies with the previous three iterations of the series being UK focussed. The strategy has been designed to provide a solution for institutional investors looking to access potential returns which are secured, resilient and income focussed.

The firm’s global debt platform, which has been investing since 1934, has grown significantly in recent years and is active across the U.S., Europe and APAC, with over €38 billion of capital invested globally on behalf of a range of pooled funds and separate mandates from a global client list.

The success of this first close and the expansion to a pan-European strategy follows the origination of over €6.5 billion in new loans by Nuveen Real Estate’s European Debt Team, secured against a wide-range of asset classes including logistics, residential, life sciences and offices.

Christian Janssen, Head of Commercial Real Estate Debt, Europe, at Nuveen Real Estate, said:“Since the global financial crisis, the European real estate debt market has changed significantly. The retrenchment of traditional bank lenders and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has created a significant opportunity for non-bank lenders to enter the European real estate debt market and grow its market share. As such we believe European commercial real estate debt can offer investors attractive risk-adjusted returns relative to fixed income investments and potential down-side risk mitigation.”