Multifamily rental portfolio of Aurec Capital in Poland on the rise

International investor Aurec Capital has expanded its portfolio in the private rented sector (PRS) in Poland. The transaction of the Puławska 186 project completed between Aurec Capital Poland and Matexi Polska is worth over PLN 100 million. JLL advised the investor on the purchase of the property.

The investment located in Warsaw's Mokotów district at ul. Puławska 186 is a new addition to the LivUp portfolio – Aurec’s long-term residential rental brand. The investor will be launching its Jagiellońska 36 project in Warsaw, with about 90 units this autumn.

“Our strategy assumes the selection of locations that will be attractive in terms of commute and provide easy access to the city's main business centres. We also try to ensure that the buildings we choose are embedded in the existing and well-functioning urban fabric, which we want to co-create through our activities. This transaction is a proof of our believe in the development potential of the private rented sector in Poland. It also strengthens our position as the leading operator on the rental market in Warsaw, since our goal is to achieve a portfolio size of thousands of units in major cities in Poland” says Roee Shamir, Managing Director Aurec Capital Poland.

Similarly to other previous transactions of living assets in Poland, also Puławska 186 was purchased in a forward funding model, which means that the buyer of the property is also the party financing the investment process. The entire development side of the project, until its completion at the turn of 2021/22, will be run by Matexi Polska. The company has already gained experience in this type of cooperation, while implementing the Pereca 11 investment in Warsaw's Wola district for Catella RE – the first building entirely purchased by a foreign fund for the institutional rental market.

“International investors must operate in a build-to-rent model because there is a shortage of standing assets or portfolios of scale that could become the subject of transactions. However, they need knowledge of the local market's particularities, which can be provided by a local business partner. At the same time, the local partner can make use of stable capital resources to finance the project development. There are two paths. This can be done by building up a platform locally, remaining in the hands of the investor, which supports all investment stages or through cooperation with Polish development companies at the implementation stage and operators supporting the commercialization process.” comments Maximilian Mendel, Head of Living Investment at JLL, who manages the team responsible for the commercial side of the transaction.

Legal advisors to the transaction included: Baker & McKenzie acting on behalf of the seller and Dentons Europe Dąbrowski & Partners on the buyer's side.