Principal Raises €297M for European Data Center Fund

Principal Asset Management has closed its European data center fund, collecting €297 million ($314.7 million) in subscriptions from 14 investors from Europe, the United States, and Asia-Pacific, including wealth managers, pension funds, and insurance companies.

The fund is focused on manage-to-core data center assets. At least 60% of the fund is allocated to the core European markets of Germany, Netherlands, France, the UK and Ireland, with the rest aimed at secondary markets such as Spain, Italy and Switzerland.

To date, the fund has acquired five assets in Barcelona, the UK, Amsterdam, Dublin and Frankfurt.

The fund is managed through Principal AM’s dedicated unit, Prinicpal Real Estate.

“Data centers present a unique opportunity for real estate investors. With growth and defensive attributes, the data center industry has proven resilient in both economic downturns and periods of economic expansion,” said Sebastian Dooley, a senior fund manager at Principal Asset Management.

Principal Real Estate closed its first closed-end data center fund in the US in June 2021, which was oversubscribed at €471.4 million ($500.3 million).

Since entering the market in 2007, Principal Real Estate has committed over €1.75 billion ($1.85 billion) in acquisitions and developments and owns more than €1.18 billion ($1.25 billion) in data center real estate investment trusts.