Colliers selected to manage Derbyshire Pension Fund property assets

Derbyshire County Council Pension Fund has awarded Colliers a mandate to manage its real estate portfolio.

The UK pension fund chose Colliers to manage a £104m (€146.6m) portfolio of 12 UK commercial real estate assets.

Colliers replaces Keneth Peters & Co, which, according to the pension fund’s 2014 annual report, managed its direct property portfolio.

The fund’s 12 commercial real estate assets – all in the UK and mainly in London – were managed on an advisory basis.

The management contract will include operational and financial management of existing property assets and the formulation and execution of a strategy to diversify the fund’s UK real estate portfolio.

The contract, worth £3.5m, is for an initial four-year period, with the possibility of an extension for two periods of three years.

Derbyshire increased its allocation to real estate while tendering for a new manager in March this year.

The UK pension fund, administered by Derbyshire County Council, is looking to add a “significant cash sum” to its direct real estate allocation.

The exact amount is still being decided by Derbyshire, which has £3.4bn of assets under management.

Previous pension fund documents suggest an increase of £50m to direct property investment, up from 4.8% towards its ultimate aim of 6.8%.

Derbyshire has indirectly invested in property funds managed by Aviva Investors, BlackRock, M&G and Threadneedle, as well as Unite’s UK Student Accommodation fund.