Property investment specialist CMC Capital is planning to raise €20 million from Irish investors for a new €100 million German commercial property syndicate.

The Cork-based wealth management company and property investment division of Crowley & McCarthy Chartered Accountants yesterday announced plans for the syndicate, saying the expected return of the fund is about 27 per cent a year.

Since entering the market in 2004, CMC Capital has invested €500 million in German commercial property on behalf of syndicate and private investor clients.

CMC's investments include the recent purchase, through a joint venture with a British partner, of Germany's busiest shopping centre, the A10 Centre outside Berlin, for €245 million.

The minimum investment in the new syndicate will be €100,000. The €20 million in equity will be combined with non-recourse finance of 80 per cent, creating an expected total portfolio value of €100 million.

At the end of the 7½ years, investors will receive a pre-tax return from sale proceeds of 12 per cent a year free of any profit-sharing, while any profits in excess of that level will be shared on an 80-20 basis between the investors and CMC.

CMC said it planned to spread the investment over three or four properties in Germany's leading cities, thereby reducing risk. Director Derry Crowley said demand among the Irish investment community for the German commercial property syndicates has been "incredibly strong".