Chayton Capital launches second fund, up to EUR 200 million in store for Romania

This would translate into up to EUR 200 million for Romanian projects. He expects the fund to have a first closing in the next month. The fund will also invest in former Yugoslavian countries, Hungary and Ukraine.
Chayton Capital, which partners developer Arca for its projects in Romania, is working on a mixed-project in Constanta, which will be built on 100 hectares of land. The project, which will include logistics, a business center and potentially retail, is in its initial master planning phase. While working on Swan Office in Bucharest, a 66,000 sqm of built area project, Chayton Capital is also targeting a shopping center project in Tulcea, an investment which will be carried out through this second fund. “This very much shows our strategy for the country, which resides in working on retail in regional cities where there isn't any – like Tulcea, for example. We wouldn't target offices in secondary cities, as there is demand for such properties mostly from local companies. As our strategy is to exit projects soon after the beginning or during the development process, we would need high-profile tenants to maximize our exit profits,” Allen explains.
Chayton Capital is now looking at joining partners on the local market for its future projects, with most of the previous ones having been developed in partnership with Arca. The fund has also acquired a seven-hectare plot in Oradea where it is planning residential, which is not typical for it. ‘It was however an opportunity we couldn't miss,” says Allen. The next asset class of interest to Chayton Capital is logistics. The fund has so far invested EUR 55 million in Romanian land, and it has managed to get good prices for the land it owns as it prefers to buy land off market, through local contacts, and avoid bidding.
Allen has received up to 20 land purchases offers from Romania, he says. Chayton Capital's plans are to launch a new fund for investments in agricultural land across the CEE region, with an eye on Romania as well, but with the focus on Ukraine. In the future, Chayton Capital could also launch a new fund for investments in finalized or underway properties.

Corina Saceanu