Universal Investment Ireland unveils new AIFM services for real estate funds

Universal Investment Group, a premier fund services platform and Super ManCo, announced today that its Irish platform, Universal Investment Ireland (UII), has expanded its product offering to include Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) services for Irish-domiciled real estate funds. Its first mandate for the newly expanded service is in relation to the ICAV holding Dubin Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, which is one of the largest retail centres in Ireland. As UII continues to expand its presence in the Irish funds market, the new product offering and mandate marks UII’s initial foray into the Irish real estate sector.

Hines Real Estate Ireland continues to act as the property asset manager for Liffey Valley Shopping Centre. The transfer of the AIFM function for the existing ICAV to UII was undertaken to streamline services, utilise the existing close links the ICAV has with Universal Investment Luxembourg, which is now acting as investment manager, and create a leaner structure for the underlying institutional investor. The appointment underlines the importance of the UI Group’s presence in the top three European fund domiciles: Luxembourg, Ireland, and Germany. This coverage allows the UI Group to take an active international approach to meeting the needs of asset managers and asset owners – something embodied by Liffey Valley.

Keith Milne, CEO of UII, said: “For us, this is a significant step in developing our Irish product range to suit client needs. To deliver best-in-class solutions for our clients, we consistently utilise the expertise of the UI Group to grow and evolve. At Group level, we have been offering real estate solutions in Luxembourg and Germany for around 15 years, with completed transactions and AIFM services amounting to approximately EUR 42 billion.”

Marcus Kuntz, Universal Investment Group Head of Sales and Fund Distribution, added: “We are seeing great demand for our services as efficiency is becoming increasingly important to many asset managers and asset owners. We are confident that our experience gained from holding over 1,200 properties for our clients and our broad range of investment solutions will enable us to score highly in Ireland as a fund hub in the future. We already have over 50 property managers connected to our platform, and our clients in Ireland and beyond benefit from our expertise in international property transactions, with properties from the USA to Europe and APAC.”