London,
08
February
2023
|
12:00
Europe/Amsterdam

Norway’s KLP pension fund and German institutional investors commit close to €100 mln to Catella Elithis Energy Positive Fund

Photo: Brest A3 architects - Project architects - Epsilon 3D

Norway’s public sector occupational pension company KLP, the country’s largest pension scheme, and a group of Institutional investors, have committed close to €100 million to the first closing of the Catella Elithis Energy Positive Impact Fund (CEEPF).   

Managed by Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management, CEEPF is the world’s first real estate investment vehicle to focus exclusively on residential developments which produce more energy from renewable sources than consumed by the buildings and their tenants. The Fund is targeting a total asset volume of €500 million to invest in these pioneering ‘energy positive’ towers and sites have already been agreed with local authorities for the French cities of Mulhouse, Brest, Le Havre, Nancy or Bordeaux.   

CEEPF is -also like Catella’s European Residential Fund III- structured around Nassim Taleb’s pioneering antifragile investing concept of Black Swan extreme random tail risk events and the alignment of stakeholder interests through the manager’s ‘skin in the game.’   

Michael Fink, Managing Director, CRIM, said: “We are delighted to welcome KLP and our German partners back through CEEPF to our growing alliance of investors who have joined us on our mission to lead the sustainable transformation of our cities. We have high expectations of our Elithis Towers which we are developing in cooperation with French sustainable building engineering and real estate developer Elithis Groupe. These towers outperform the EU’s 2050 net carbon zero target operationally by using technologies which render them energy positive from the start and they can be built at standard market construction costs. Our doors remain open to all other like-minded investors interested in joining us in scaling up a viable ESG solution for two of the greatest crises of our times, climate change and widening social inequality.”   

The residents of the Elithis Towers benefit from a substantial reduction or complete elimination of their household energy bills, which makes effective apartment rents more affordable than comparable homes in the neighbourhood -- around 5% to 10% lower on average.   

Andreas L. Farberg, Investment Manager Global Real Estate at KLP, Norway’s pension company for the local government and healthcare sectors,, added: “   

CEEPF was launched in H1 2022 and qualifies as an Article 9 ‘dark green’ impact fund, the highest designation under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The vehicle invests in energy-positive residential real estate in 20-25 locations in France, and aims to create sustainable, high-quality and affordable housing while simultaneously curbing energy consumption and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Structured as a real estate special fund or Luxembourg SCS SICAV-SIF..   

Casper van Grieken, Executive Director, CBRE Netherland – Head of Capital Advisors, concluded: “The Elithis Fund is a natural partner for investors keen to raise their performance in terms of on both environmental and social impact. The towers deliver both operational carbon neutrality and effective affordable rents through the elimination of domestic energy bills, hence increasing each household’s annual purchasing power. This is particularly relevant at a time of soaring energy prices in Europe.”   

CBRE Capital Advisors are mandated to advise on fundraising from international investors. 

Interview about the Catella Elithis Energy Postive Fund

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About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Dallas, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2021 revenue). The company has more than 105,000 employees (excluding Turner & Townsend employees) serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE serves a diverse range of clients with an integrated suite of services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com