After a first closing of €515m, which ranks the Intermediate Housing Fund (FLI) as the biggest French fund dedicated to residential housing, SNI (Société NationaleImmobilière), a subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts, is now aiming to raise additional funds, with a funding target of at least €700m, giving it total investment firepower of €1.2bn. 

The Fund gives investors access to a diversified portfolio of 7,000-plus homes in densely-populated middle class areas. SNI is launching a new fundraising round this month, with a funding target of €700m. Combined with leverage of 40%, this would give the Fund an investment capacity of about €1.2bn. Following the first closing the FLI ranks among the five largest unlisted residential funds in Europe.

Vincent Mahe, General Counsel of the SNI Group and President of AMPERE Gestion, the management company for the Fund, said: “Operating profits of middle class housing are very resilient. Also, urban areas in France offer the best demographic prospects throughout Europe, thereby increasing the value of our assets in the long-run.”

Thanks to new regulatory framework and advantageous tax status (a VAT rate reduced from 20% to 10% and exemption from property ownership tax on developed property), the Fund claims it will offer attractive returns of a gross rental income of 4.8% and an internal rate of return of 7% over 20 years.