EUROPE - Aberdeen Asset Management has been chosen to take over the management of two European real estate portfolios on behalf of financial institutions, representing more than €800m of assets, many of which are distressed.
The investment manager has been appointed to manage two separate portfolios: a €537m Nordic portfolio previously managed by Danish asset manager Property Group, and a €300m Danish-owned portfolio in Sweden.
The properties in the Nordic portfolio are located mainly in Denmark, Sweden and Finland and comprise retail and residential assets.
A number of the properties are distressed assets, and Aberdeen will employ active management to optimise them with a view to selling in the future.
The Swedish portfolio, meanwhile, will be managed on behalf of Provinsfastigheter, previously part of the now restructured Allokton group owned by several Danish banks.
The portfolio is located across Sweden, with most of the properties in and around Stockholm and with an equal share of offices and residential properties.
Aberdeen will again employ active management of the assets and also manage the financial administration, reporting directly to the board of directors, until the portfolio is ready to be sold.
The two mandates mean Aberdeen's property assets under management in the Nordic region has increased by €846m to €9.9bn.
Tonny Nielsen, Nordic head of investment management at Aberdeen, said: "I am delighted to see this shift among financial institutions toward outsourcing to specialist management companies to optimise their portfolio, instead of passively manage properties."
Jens Erik Gravengaard, chairman of the board at Provinsfastigheter, said: "Aberdeen's extensive skills in actively managing individual properties and large property portfolios have been decisive in our choice of manager.
"This is a very large portfolio, where some of the assets will require further development and dedicated asset management. That, in turn, requires experience and in-house specialist property expertise."
