Daiwa House Modular Europe and Capital Bay agree strategic partnership

19 Oct 2021

Strategic partnership to build a modular megafactory for the European housing market together

Daiwa House Modular Europe and Capital Bay Group, a fully integrated international asset, investment and fund manager and cross-sector property developer, have entered into a comprehensive and strategic partnership in the area of modular construction.

George Salden (CEO) and Rolf Schneider (COO) of Capital Bay Group have entered into the strategic partnership with Harry van Zandwijk (CEO) and Richard Brinkman (CFO) of Daiwa House Modular Europe. Daiwa House Modular Europe was founded in 2021 after Daiwa House Group acquired Jan Snel the same year. Daiwa House Group is a global market leader in industrialised construction with an annual net turnover of approximately 32 billion euros, around 49,000 employees, and over 1.9 million completed homes and commercial buildings.

The objective of the partnership is to develop an integrated platform for the industrialised production and sales of prefabricated construction modules and micro-apartments. The target groups for the use and management of these buildings are the management brands of Capital Bay’s sister company 360 Operator GmbH, including providers in the studio, apartment and senior housing sectors, as well as other European clients.

“We are proud to be the only Alternative Investment Fund Manager in Germany with a strategic partnership of this kind and the goal of constructing a mega-factory together as part of a strategic partnership. Modular, industrialised and ultimately digitised construction is the construction method of the future. By utilising fully prefabricated construction modules that only need to be assembled at the construction site, we can reduce construction time by 30 to 50 percent and reduce costs significantly. And above all, this building concept is fully ESG-compliant.”

The plan is to execute the first project as soon as 2022. It concerns the construction of various units in the student, young professional, and seniors segment for management brands in 360 Operator GmbH’s portfolio. The ideal conditions for the production and sale of further projects will be determined in this process.

There are plans to develop a joint mega-factory and sales organisations in Germany later in the partnership. The acquisition of suitable land on which to construct the mega-factory is scheduled for 2022, so production and distribution can commence in 2024. Meanwhile, the construction modules are being produced in Daiwa House Modular Europe’s existing factories.

Harry van Zandwijk, CEO of Daiwa House Modular Europe:

“We strive to minimise the environmental effects of building activities. Thanks to our circular approach to building, the individual modules can simply be dismantled at the end of the usage phase and be reused for new building projects. In addition to saving time, this method also reduces CO2 emissions by half.”

Rolf Schneider, COO of Capital Bay Group and CEO of 360 Operator GmbH:

“It is fantastic to work with one of the most established and innovative companies in Europe in the field of modular construction. This partnership is a response to the growing demand for efficient and affordable housing solutions from both 360 Operator GmbH, as well as the European housing market in general. This means we can respond optimally to the needs of our clients and partners with future-oriented building and housing solutions.”