Blackstone has announced the final close of its latest European real estate drawdown fund, raising €9.8 billion, making it the largest fund of its kind ever focused on the European property market. The fund, known as Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe VII (BREP Europe VII), significantly exceeds the €9.5 billion raised for its predecessor in 2020. The capital will be deployed across a range of asset classes, with a focus on logistics, residential, hospitality, and data centres. Blackstone said the strategy will target value-add opportunities, where it can improve operations or reposition properties to meet evolving demand across Europe. According to the firm, investor interest remained strong despite broader macroeconomic uncertainty, underlining continued confidence in European real estate fundamentals and Blackstone’s performance track record. Investors in the fund include a global mix of sovereign wealth funds, public pension funds, insurance companies, and other institutional investors. James Seppala, Head of Real Estate Europe at Blackstone, stated, “The successful closing of BREP Europe VII reflects the long-term support from our global investor base and their confidence in our ability to source, execute, and manage large-scale and complex real estate transactions across Europe.” Seppala added that the firm sees continued opportunities in sectors driven by long-term demand trends such as e-commerce, urbanisation, digital infrastructure, and tourism recovery. Blackstone intends to focus on assets that benefit from strong demand drivers and limited new supply. Blackstone Real Estate has over $330 billion in investor capital under management globally. In Europe, the platform has grown significantly over the past decade, with major investments across the UK, Germany, France, Spain, the Nordics, and Central and Eastern Europe. With the close of BREP Europe VII, Blackstone strengthens its position as a dominant player in the European private equity real estate market, at a time when many investors are seeking resilience and long-term value creation in real assets.