Luxcara in €170m fifth close for third renewables fund

European asset manager Luxcara has increased the size of its third renewable energy fund to €170 million after holding a fifth close since it launched last September.

The fund, open only to institutional investors and backed by a group of German pension funds and insurance companies, has a 190MW portfolio, with solar and offshore wind assets in Germany, the UK and Norway.

“We are delighted that the majority of investors from our previous fund have also invested in our third renewable energy infrastructure fund,” Kathrin Oechtering, a managing partner at Luxcara, said in a statement. “We have already invested 80 percent of the capital since the fund was launched in September 2015. Thanks to our excellent market access and many years of experience in deal execution, we can quickly carry out investments in high-quality renewable assets.”

Luxcara held a first close for the fund in November, raising €50 million, and said it was targeting €250 million for its final close, originally planned in March. Shortly after reaching a first close, Luxcara invested in a portfolio of wind assets. The manager said at the time it was targeting 500MW for the fund’s portfolio, but would not own equity in the projects, investing instead in long-term subordinated bonds issued by the project companies.

In February, the asset manager acquired a 34.4MW portfolio of five UK solar projects valued at £40 million ($57.4 million; €51.3 million).

Luxcara, which manages some €2 billion in renewable assets, started its first renewables fund in 2009, raising €17 million to invest in €80 million of projects. Its second vehicle followed in 2011, raising €165 million to build a €700 million portfolio.