EDF Invest and Savills IM launch €600m European living JV

EDF Invest, the investment division of Électricité de France, has formed a joint venture with Savills IM to pursue a pan-European residential property strategy. 

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EDF Invest now owns a 50% share in the holding company of Savills IM's European Living Fund and has committed significant capital to the venture.
This partnership aims to grow its portfolio to over €600 mln in gross asset value within the next two years, focusing on acquiring and managing apartments and student housing across Europe. The venture begins with a portfolio of approximately €220 mln in prime multifamily assets located in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden, which were part of Savills IM's European Living Fund (EULIV). EULIV, launched in 2023 with backing from Samsung Life, focuses on sustainable residential properties and has already completed four transactions.
This venture marks EDF Invest's initial significant foray into the European residential sector, expanding its €1.5 bn real estate investments, which previously concentrated on hospitality, offices, logistics, industrial, and retail properties. Savills IM, which manages a €2.8 billion portfolio of over 9,000 residential units globally, sees "Living" as a crucial area for strategic growth. The JV will work closely with Savills IM’s European platform, which has €22.0 bn of assets under management in multiple sectors.
Patrick Au Yeung will be responsible for managing the JV's portfolio.
Marc Gonzalvez, director of Product & Strategy at Savills IM, said: “The creation of this joint venture demonstrates Savills IM’s capabilities in the design and execution of bespoke capital solutions for like-minded investors, where we can provide access to our platform outside of traditional pooled fund vehicles.”
Patrick Au Yeung, senior fund director for Savills IM’s European Living Fund, stated: “Since the launch of EULIV we have been successfully deploying capital in high-quality multifamily assets with strong ESG credentials, providing resilient income and long-term value growth to our investors. In addition to a continued focus on our existing markets, we will be expanding into new countries and sub-sectors in Europe, where we are seeing attractive opportunities across a range of residential-rental products in the likes of Denmark, Italy, and Ireland.”
Clémence Caniaux, head of Real Estate at EDF Invest, commented: “EDF Invest is delighted with this acquisition of a stake in a high-quality residential portfolio with strong development potential. This partnership strengthens our exposure to the European residential sector and is fully aligned with our long-term investment strategy. This transaction reflects our ambition to accelerate the diversification of our portfolio across both asset classes and geographies.”
Philippe Berrin, investment director at EDF Invest, added: “This investment marks a further step in the execution of our diversification strategy and underlines our confidence in the resilience and long-term potential of the residential sector. By joining this high-quality platform, we are strengthening EDF Invest’s footprint across Europe and positioning ourselves to create sustainable value and capture new growth opportunities in this dynamic segment.”