Bouwinvest retail vehicle backed by three Dutch pension funds

Bouwinvest’s retail fund has been backed by three Dutch pension funds – the vehicle’s first third-party commitments.

Pf Grontmij, Pf Fysiotherapeuten and Pf PNO Media committed €55m ($59.5m) to Bouwinvest’s Dutch Institutional Retail Fund.

The commitments are the first third-party investments to the fund, which is backed by bpfBOUW.

The pensions funds were advised by Grontmij Capital Consultants.

Bouwinvest chief executive Dick van Hal said: “We see good opportunities for investing in assets that meet our ‘convenience’ and ‘experience’ investment focus. We expect such investments to deliver superior returns through careful asset selection and redevelopment know-how.”

Van Hal said the fund, which owns 41 assets worth €723m, is focused on Dutch retail locations best placed to prosper as e-commerce transforms retailing.

The fund is targeting stable, long-term core returns from properties in prime high street locations and neighbourhood shopping centres.

Assets include three shopping centre developments in Amsterdam at Mosveld, Stadionplein and the Damrak project.

All are scheduled to open later this year.

Bouwinvest said it was looking to have €800m of assets under management by the end of next year.

Five Dutch pension funds recently committed €152.5m to Bouwinvest’s domestic residential fund.

The fund has reached a total asset value of €3bn, making it the largest unleveraged housing fund in the Netherlands.

The fund has a €700m development pipeline, with a further €600m earmarked to be invested over the next few years.

The fund was created after Bouwinvest’s main client BPF Bouw – the pension scheme for construction workers – decided in 2010 to open its domestic property portfolio to third-party investors.