Press release – Brest

The Catella-Elithis Positive Energy Fund (CEEPF) acquires the Elithis positive energy tower project in Brest.
CEEPF, the world’s first real estate investment vehicle to finance exclusively positive-energy residential developments, has acquired a 90-apartment, two-level office tower project in Brest. This is an investment classified as an Article 9 “dark green impact fund”, under the EU Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The energy-efficient tower, developed by French sustainable engineering company Elithis Groupe, will generate renewable energy from photovoltaic panels and wind turbines installed on the tower’s roof. The development project is scheduled for completion in the 2nd half of 2025. The Tour Elithis project in the port city of Brest will be built to market-standard construction costs and represents an investment volume of 26.7 million euros by the fund manager, Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM).
Xavier Jongen, Managing Director of CRIM, comments: “The momentum of the Elithis fund’s construction pipeline is continuing, and our project in Brest follows closely on the heels of two other positive-energy residential development acquisitions that we completed in Mulhouse last quarter, and in Le Havre a few weeks ago. Europe is redoubling its efforts to secure energy independence by reducing pressure on national grids, and Catella aims to play a pioneering role in the process, developing world-class energy-efficient buildings. Tenants have the opportunity to totally or partially eliminate their energy bills and sustainably manage energy consumption in their home environment through a proprietary application, thereby increasing their disposable income.”
This new development will be located on the right bank of the Penfeld River, in the extension of Brest city center, in a new district called Les Capucins. Since 2015, the neighborhood has undergone a major revitalization with the development of new residential buildings, including a hotel and new office space. The main railway station, located on a high-speed line, is nearby and accessible in less than 20 minutes by public transport, with fast connections to Paris in around 3.5 hours. The community aims to develop 600 new homes in Capucins to create a dynamic, mixed-use eco-neighborhood that puts the needs of the neighborhood community at its heart. For this ambitious project with exceptional environmental virtues, the partnership with Brest Métropole Habitat for the development and sale of the land was exemplary.
The project will feature a range of housing types, including T2, T3 and T4 units. Office space will be on the first floor and 1st floor. The tower will also include a communal space called the “social heart”, shared by tenants on the 17th floor, a garden, a bicycle garage (approx. 195 bikes) and 107 indoor parking spaces. The building will benefit from a bioclimatic design, generating on-site renewable energy production of around 180,000 KWh, thanks to photovoltaic panels on the roof cap, as well as wind-generated electricity. The electricity will be sold to the grid and the net income (after management costs) redistributed to tenants via a reduction in rental charges. A collective self-consumption energy network enabling users to share electricity locally is also under study.
The tower will be complemented by high-quality interior finishes and will offer exceptional views from its windows, which maximize natural lighting and ventilation. Finally, a proprietary “energy coaching app” will help tenants manage their overall household energy consumption, and the building will achieve an A energy efficiency performance rating.
Thierry Bievre, President, Elithis Groupe, concludes: “The Elithis Tower in Brest is our 5th project with Catella in the space of just 2 years. This demonstrates not only the Group’s ability to carry out projects with exceptional features, but above all to reproduce our concept in inflationary market conditions, with the same promise: to make positive energy accessible to all. It’s because we’re proving that another viable model is possible – that of creating affordable, sustainable and comfortable housing at standard construction costs – that Catella is joining us in this ambitious project to build 100 positive-energy buildings together by 2030”.

About Elithis Groupe: Elithis is a French engineering and real estate group, founded in 2003, and one of the leaders in energy, environmental and economic performance. It offers innovative, sustainable and competitive solutions to the construction and renovation industry and to local authorities. With more than 150 employees worldwide, the group has developed more than 2,500 projects over the past 10 years, with two major achievements:
● The design of the first positive energy tertiary building, a 5000 m2 office building completed in Dijon in 2009. This was a world first, and its features still exceed the regulatory requirements and certifications of leading construction companies,
● The creation and realization of the Elithis “Danube” tower in Strasbourg, the first positive energy residential tower in the world, surpassing the technical forecasts and existing European and French certifications and even managing to erase the energy bill of its inhabitants.
With its two subsidiaries “Elithis Solutions” for the consulting and engineering activity and “Elithis Immobilier” for the development of positive energy projects, Elithis is today an integrated group with a unique positioning, offering its experience, its knowledge and its ingenuity to imagine buildings with exceptional energetic and environmental performances.
About the Catella Elithis Energy Positive Fund:
CEEPF is a vehicle dedicated to investing in positive-energy residential real estate in Europe, and particularly in France. In addition to financial targets, the main objectives are to :
– Reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in housing,
– The creation of sustainable, high-quality, affordable housing.
About Catella Residentiel Investissement Management GmbH (CRIM):
Catella launched its first European residential fund in 2007 and its student housing fund in 2013. CRIM is a subsidiary of the Stockholm-based Catella AB group. Its residential real estate business includes portfolio management, acquisitions, sales and asset management. CRIM manages and advises several funds and mandates, and has over €7 billion in assets under management in 10 European countries.

Press contacts :
Elithis:
Isabelle d’Halluin
Tel: +33 (0) 6 03 00 88 48
Email: idh@isabelledhalluin.com
Catella Residential Investment Management GmbH
Stine Zöchling
Head of Marketing and PR European Residential
Office: +49 (0)30 887 285 29 76
Mobile: +49 (0)151 544 51 005
stine.zoechling@catella-residential.com