International: Real estate investor NREP, venture capital firm 2150, credit platform Velo Capital, and new private equity investor Luma Equity have teamed up to form Urban Partners group, representing €20 billion of AUM.
The new platform has been created to “house investment verticals across real estate, venture capital, private equity and credit to address the social, economic, and environmental challenges facing cities”.
Urban Partners has called on the real estate and urban investment industry to radically change “their approach to investment and how returns are measured to recognise the complexity of urban ecosystems”.
Speaking at the launch of the new platform Claus Mathisen, CEO of Urban Partners, said: “The launch of Urban Partners represents a new investment thesis and a new level of ambition. Only by taking an integrated approach, bringing together expertise from real estate, private capital, and credit will we be able to address the complex challenges of decarbonisation, affordability, health, biodiversity, urban efficiency, and infrastructure that cities face. No-one can solve these challenges alone. We urge our peers to follow our lead.”
An Urban Partners statement said: “Cities consume most of the world’s resources, generate the majority of global emissions, and are home to half the world’s population. But the interests of investors have often failed to align with the leadership and residents of the cities they invest in. Venture capital and private equity funding continues to be misallocated, with sectors accounting for more than half of global emissions (buildings and industry) only attracting 13 per cent of investment. Urban Partners aims to change this by pioneering problem-solving partnerships that bridge the gap between the interests of capital and cities.”
The launch of Urban Partners makes the first dedicated pool of constructive capital – with returns being measured alongside impact – with €5 billion available to invest today.
With NREP already working towards achieving net zero by 2028, and the IPCC recently highlighting that emissions will need to be cut by almost half by 2030, Urban Partners is now calling on other urban investors to recognise the urgent need for a new approach to accelerate cities’ transition to sustainability.
Mathisen added: “If we are to achieve net zero emissions, we need a massive redistribution of capital towards buildings and industry, which account for more than half of global emissions but attract only 13 per cent of investment. Coming together as Urban Partners will give us the best chance of scaling the companies and solutions that will make the biggest impact on our most pressing sustainability challenges.”
Mikkel Bülow-Lehnsby, chairperson of Urban Partners, added: “We launched Urban Partners to bridge the gap between the interests of people, cities, and capital. Misalignment between these has led to inadequate, sometimes even harmful, development of the urban ecosystem – urban sprawl, segregation, and ever rising carbon emissions being the consequence. We want to lead a new era where shared visions deliver shared benefits. Where we put our financial weight and urban expertise into finding solutions to the largest problem out there: making cities liveable for the long-term.”
