Aukera Real Estate launches €500m European real estate debt fund

Essen-based Aukera Real Estate has launched a €500 mln real estate debt fund focused on senior secured loans for office, retail, logistics, and residential properties in prime locations.

Management Board Aukera - CIO Patrick Zuechner and CEO Lars Amrgart

The fund will initially focus on properties in Germany and the Netherlands, with potential expansion into other European markets. 
HUK-COBURG Asset Management has committed €50 mln as an anchor investor, marking its return to real estate debt funds after a five-year hiatus. 
The fund, aimed at German-speaking institutional investors, focuses exclusively on senior secured whole loans, primarily in the form of traditional financing, but also selectively considers bridge financing (e.g., bridge-to-exit or bridge-to-green). It avoids mezzanine capital, preferred equity, and fund-level leverage. Targeting a 6-7.5% IRR per transaction (350-500 basis points above the swap rate), the fund offers loans with an LTV/LTC of up to 75%.
Lars Armgart, CEO of Aukera, explained: “With our new fund, we offer institutional investors the opportunity to achieve comparatively high returns with low risk at the start of the new real estate cycle. We are delighted to have gained HAM, representing the HUK-COBURG insurance group, as our first capital partner who shares our conviction that the best time to invest in alternative real estate financing is now. Aukera provides the most experienced team in the German market in the field of real estate debt and we are confident that we will be able to build up the portfolio of our new fund quickly. We are focusing on a high degree of diversification in terms of locations and asset classes in order to minimise investment risks further.”
Maximilian Cosack, head of Private Asset at HAM, added: “After carefully observing the real estate financing market, we conclude that a commitment to Aukera’s fund fits perfectly into our real estate debt portfolio of approximately €700 mln AuM. The current market phase at the beginning of the next real estate cycle makes us optimistic to have picked the right asset class and the right fund product from a professional partner at the right time.”
Aukera reports a surge in demand for real estate debt, having reviewed €2.7 bn worth of transactions this year. With several deals already in due diligence or closing, they anticipate at least five investments for the new fund by the end of 2025. Preferring loan sizes between €10-€20 mln (potentially up to €50 mln as the fund grows), Aukera anticipates typical loan terms of three to five years.