REAL ESTATE – Netherlands-based TKP Pensioen, a subsidiary of Aegon, last week announced that it had invested €52m in Standard Life’s €2.8bn UK shopping centre fund.

The Dutch pension fund manager said the move w as part of a strategy to invest in prime shopping centres. Robert-Jan Tel, TKP’s head of real estate, also said the pension fund had been under-allocated in the UK.

"We believe absolutely in this category," he said. "It’s doing pretty well in the portfolio. The forecasts are for performance that isn’t as strong as it has been in the past few years but it’s still pretty strong –with good, stable returns."

Tel said TKP would target "a little bit more" than its allocation in UK retail after this investment – around 10% of the real estate portfolio.

TKP, long a champion of indirect investment in real estate, is the first overseas investor in the fund, which Standard Life claims offers "expert investors access to a sub-sector where lot size continues to present a barrier to entry".

The insurer now plans to set up a feeder fund "to provide more efficient distribution of returns" for overseas investors.