Earlier this year, residential properties worth over half a billion changed hands from Vision Properties to a company with the investment fund Selected Alternatives as the main shareholder. A Swiss asset manager and Danske Bank’s general counsel have also been involved in the deal.
The investment fund Selected Alternatives, together with a number of smaller investors, has acquired a real estate portfolio from Vision Properties, owned by Lars Larsen Group and Schou Family Invest.
The portfolio consists of six residential properties totaling 14,000 sqm located in Copenhagen, Hellerup and Gentofte. The portfolio has cost around EUR 80 million, equivalent to approximately DKK 600 million, says Tonny Elsberg, CEO of the Skanderborg-based investment advisor Selected Group, which is behind Selected Alternatives.
“We want to build a portfolio of residential properties in the metropolitan area. That’s why we’ve made this investment, which is made through a company in which the fund owns approximately 35 percent,” says Tonny Elsberg to EjendomsWatch.
The company that took over the portfolio in March 2021 is called Viga Re. The company has financier Kristian Goth Vinther as CEO, and the Chairman of the Board is Danske Bank’s General Counsel, Niels Heering, who has previously been Chairman of M. Goldschmidt Holding and Jeudan.
“These are two people who are very familiar with the Copenhagen real estate area, where they have been working for many years. We try to team up with the best partners when we make investments, and we have done the same here,” says Tonny Elsberg.
The investment is one of five real estate investments that Selected Alternatives has made since February 2020. The previous four investments have been made through the Aarhus-based project provider Crescendo.
“We’re not locked in to any particular partner. It varies depending on who is the best in the different areas and who can provide the best offer,” says Tonny Elsberg.
The Crescendo portfolios are located in Aarhus, Silkeborg and Horsens and are fully owned by Selected Alternatives, which has assets totaling approximately DKK 1.5 billion, of which a third is placed in real estate.
This distinguishes them from the Vige Re portfolio, which includes a Swiss institutional investor, Swiss Finance & Property, among others.
“It’s a little easier to make your first real estate investment in Copenhagen than in Jutland. It’s a bit more exotic for them than it is for us,” says Tonny Elsberg about the partnership.
The Swiss connection is something Selected Group has established within the past six months. The company’s founder and owner, Johann Laux, has moved to Switzerland to establish himself in this wealth management market.
“So far, we have primarily focused on wealthy people in Denmark, but there is much more capital in the Zurich area, and we want to get a piece of that,” says Tonny Elsberg.
The hope is that this can drive the future growth of Selected Group, which Tonny Elsberg hopes will be “anything but slow and steady.”
“Right now, we have approximately DKK 7.5 billion in AUM (assets under management, ed.). Our goal is to double that by the end of next year to reach DKK 15 billion,” says Tonny Elsberg.
