EDF and Savills IM enter into a €600m joint venture for a Pan-European Living strategy

EDF Invest, the investment arm of global electricity leader Électricité de France (EDF SA), has entered into a joint venture (JV) with Savills Investment Management (Savills IM).

EDF will become a key partner for Savills IM’s Living platform, where it has acquired a 50% stake in the holding company of Savills IM’s European Living Fund (EULIV) and made a significant equity commitment to the JV. Through this partnership, the JV aims to expand its portfolio to over €600m GAV within the next two years, acquiring and managing multifamily and student accommodation assets across Europe.

The JV is seeded by EULIV’s c. €220m portfolio of prime multifamily assets located in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. EULIV, a core/core+ fund launched in 2023 and backed by Savills IM’s minority shareholder and investor Samsung Life, focuses on modern, sustainable residential assets across Europe. Since launch, the fund has completed four transactions totalling 64,000 sq m. Patrick Au Yeung will be responsible for the portfolio management of the JV.

“Living” is a key strategic growth pillar for Savills IM, which currently manages a €2.8bn portfolio of over 9,000 residential-rental units in the UK, Europe and Japan. The JV will work closely with Savills IM’s European platform, which has €22.0bn of assets under management in multiple sectors and a team of over 300 across 12 offices.

Patrick Au Yeung, Senior Fund Director for Savills IM’s European Living Fund, said: “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. Our consistency in investment belief has been appreciated by our new partner as we look to the next chapter to further diversify the portfolio. 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, said: “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. It also represents an important milestone for EDF Invest, marking our first participation in a residential platform alongside leading partners. This transaction reflects our ambition to accelerate the diversification of our portfolio across both asset classes and geographies. We are pleased to begin this partnership with Savills IM and Samsung Life.”