Avignon Capital, the European property investment and asset management firm has opened its first office in the Netherlands via a strategic joint venture with Vastestate, a Dutch property management company.
The Netherlands is a major market for Avignon Capital, which has been investing in the country over the past 2 years and established an on the ground presence with the hire of Jacco van Pelt in Q1 2019. Avignon currently manages €200m of Dutch assets and plans to invest €300-400m over the next 2 years.
The office, based in Rotterdam will be responsible for the management of Avignon’s existing Dutch portfolio and will focus on sourcing value-add investments in prime locations including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. The sector focus will be offices, hotels retail/leisure in line with Avignon’s “work play stay” investment strategy.
The office will be run by senior principals Erwin Hebels, Floris Ledder, and Jacco van Pelt, who all have over 20 years of experience.
Patrick Flaton, Managing Partner at Avignon Capital said: “We have been looking to open an office in the Netherlands for some time and this was a smart choice to partner with Vastestate.
Rather than building a team from scratch, it made sense to partner with a like-minded local company with an already established team and in-depth knowledge of the market.
The demand in the Dutch market has developed very strongly over the past few years and we are seeing increased competition to source the best deals. Having a team on the ground will give us that competitive edge and access to more sought after off-market deals.”
Erwin Hebels, Director at Avignon Capital / Vastestate said: “Avignon is a strong fit, both culturally and strategically for us, and we recognised a shared vision and opportunity in the market.
There is investor demand for more exposure in the Netherlands, a market with strong fundamentals and rental growth opportunities. We are seeing good investment opportunities across the key Dutch cities and this partnership with Avignon will unlock the equity requirements needed.
I am delighted to be leading this new venture and look forward to working with Jacco and Floris to deliver the Dutch strategy.”
The joint venture presents a unique strategic opportunity for Avignon to tap into an existing infrastructure to establish a new office in the Netherlands. The partnership is an important step in Avignon’s growth strategy to grow its European presence – increasing its local headcount and growing value-add approach.