EUROPE - European institutional investors have committed close to €200m of capital to a number of core real estate funds managed by Aberdeen Asset Management and ING Real Estate Investment Management, respectively.
Aberdeen has attracted €127m of capital for a number of its Nordic real estate funds from both global investors and local institutions.
The equity raised was split between its pan-Nordic fund and its three country-specific funds in Finland, Norway and Denmark.
The majority of the capital came from international investors, mainly UK institutional investors advised by multi-managers.
Local institutional investors in Denmark, Finland and Norway also committed capital to the funds.
Most of the capital went to the pan-Nordic fund, although Tonny Nielsen, head of investment management for the Nordic region, said Aberdeen had been surprised by a recent rise in interest for all of its products, reflecting a change in investor sentiment.
"Several new investors have expressed confidence in the Nordic property markets and in Aberdeen by investing into our domestic and Nordic property funds," he said.
"As the global economy recovers, the Nordic property market continues to improve, with prime property values beginning to rebound amid strengthening demand.
"Property continues to offer a high income compared with government bonds, as well as an extremely wide range of investment opportunities.
"Consequently, we are convinced interest from investors of all risk appetites will continue to increase over the coming months."
Meanwhile, ING REIM has raised €67m for its European Property Strategy (EPS), an open-ended core vehicle that provides a diversified exposure to ING REIM's 14 non-listed funds in Europe.
Earlier in the year, ING REIM announced it had secured €100m from an unnamed Swiss investor for the new product, taking total commitments for EPS up to €167m.
The new capital comes from two institutional investors based in the Netherlands and Belgium, respectively.
