Cordea Savills, the UK-based international property investment manager, has, via its German BaFin approved investment company, Cordea Savills Invest GmbH, launched its first German “Spezialfonds” for institutional investors.

Cordea Savills Real Invest 1 has raised €65 million (around $85 million) of equity at its first closing from a group of German insurance companies. The fund’s strategy is focused on modern offices or mixed-use buildings in the top seven German cities, with lot sizes of between €30 and €70 million.

“The fund will be seeking further assets in the near term providing immediate and diversified rental income,” said Hans Dieter Martin, managing director of Cordea Savills Invest GmbH.

Cordea Savills Real Invest 1’s first asset is a forward commitment to purchase “Dortmunder U – Das Viertel”, a public private partnership project in Dortmund comprising mainly two vocational colleges with places for 6,000 students. It is due to be completed at the end of 2015 and the two colleges are let on a fixed basis to the city of Dortmund for 25 years. The fund has secured the acquisition of the project on its completion from a special purpose vehicle owned by HOCHTIEF PPP Solutions, HOCHTIEF Projectentwickllung and KÖLBL KRUSE, the firm said.

Last month, Cordea Savills launched a full service investment platform in Japan, with the aim to build upon the existing Merchant Capital business, an independent real estate-focused Japanese merchant bank.