Meta Estate Trust SA, a new concept on the Romanian real estate market
Bucharest, 28 May 2021 – Meta Estate Trust SA, a new company on the Romanian real estate market, announces the closure of the first round of financing from strategic investors and raising of 19 million lei. The Meta Estate Trust business model was designed by Certinvest and adapted to the real estate market together with six shareholders – entrepreneurs from the real estate and capital markets.
In just two months from the official launch, the share capital of Meta Estate Trust reached 19 million lei, an amount accumulated from the contributions of the project initiators joined by experienced local entrepreneurs. Part of the capital raised was already used in the acquisition of approximately 40 properties – apartments in Bucharest and Mamaia. The company is already preparing for another financing round.
“At the next General Meeting of Shareholders on June 14th, we will propose for approval two crucial items for the development of Meta Estate Trust: raising another 15 million lei through a private placement later this summer and electing members of the advisory board. It should be emphasized that the investors who participate in the upcoming private placement will benefit automatically from an allocation of preferential shares, a premiere on the local capital market. Naturally, we will then turn our attention to the listing on the AeRO market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, through an IPO,” stated Eugen Voicu, cofounder Meta Estate Trust.
The company has a holding structure and aims capitalize on the best opportunities in the local real estate sector, having focus on the large urban residential segment, represented in the first stage by Bucharest, Constanța, Cluj-Napoca, Iași and Timișoara. Meta Estate Trust is based on REIT investment structure, offering operational returns, as well as assessing the value of the assets held, capitalized by a profit distribution rate of up to 100%, for ordinary shares.
The holding is managed by a management company, Meta Management Team SRL, established by the six initiators of the project: Certinvest Management Solutions, Ionuț Nicolescu, President of SVN Romania, Adrian Stanciu, founding member of Erudio and Ascendis Consulting, company Delta Studio, through entrepreneurs, Dragoș Bonea and Alex Bonea, Cosmin Mizof, Head of Risk Management at Certinvest and company Mentor 2 Invest. The objective of the Meta Estate Trust management is to reach a yield target projected as an annual average in the first ten years of over 15%.
24 strategic investors have already joined the project, among whom we mention: Marian Alecu (entrepreneur in HoReCa and tourism), Cosmin Alexandru, Ovidiu Andries (entrepreneur), Deig Oriol Casellas (Veranda Mall), Ilinca von Derenthall, Marian Dinu (DLA Piper), Calin-Razvan Negoita (Capital Fleet Services), Viorel Opait and Marius Scuta (JLL), Ilinca Paun, as well as Dorin Nicolae Plaveti,
The launch of Meta Estate Trust coincides with a period of effervescence for the residential real estate market, creating relevant opportunities on the medium- or long-term, according to recent trends and developments. The number of properties sold nationwide increased by 21.5% in the first three months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, according to official statistics of the National Agency for Cadaster and Land Registration (ANCPI).
“The local residential market is at its all-time high: the number of transactions is at an absolute maximum, the accessibility of buying a new home is at the best level in the last 14 years and interest rates are at a low level. There are countless opportunities on the market, whether we are talking about assets held by financing institutions, new projects that are in development or are finalized, or housing available on the free market. We have the best expertise on the market, and we will use it to bring the best returns to our shareholders and partners, with an as fast as possible capital rotation”, added Ionut Nicolescu, President of SVN Romania, the real estate consultant of Meta Estate Trust.
The Meta Estate Trust investment model is based on several pillars of investment in real estate projects, such as: Early-Stage, Turn-Around and Rental. Consequently, it covers the most important segments of the residential real estate market: investments in projects in the early stages of development, through partnerships with established and successful real estate developers before their finalization, the purchase of apartments at negotiated discount prices and their appreciation accelerated by high quality finishes, in order to sell them at market price and, last but not least, the short and medium term rent of some apartments initially purchased for Early-Stage or Turn-Around.
The number of real estate transactions in Bucharest and its surroundings in Q1 2021 was 35.2% higher than in the first three months of 2020 but also 44.4% higher than in the first quarter of 2019, when the local market was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, new housing delivery results were recorded. In Bucharest and Ilfov were delivered 20,733 units, compared to approximately 14,832 in 2019, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics. Over 24,000 homes were under construction in Bucharest and its surroundings at the beginning of March 2021, according to SVN Romania data. Between 18,000 and 20,000 new units are estimated to be completed this year.
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About Meta Estate Trust
Meta Estate Trust SA is a holding company launched on the local real estate market by a group of entrepreneurs with expertise on the real estate and capital markets. The business model is based on a REIT investment structure, with investment pillars in real estate projects, with a focus on the large urban residential segment.