Florida SBA commits $25m to BlackRock European property fund

The Florida State Board of Administration (Florida SBA) has approved a $25m (€22.3m) commitment to BlackRock’s fourth European property fund, backing the Europe Property IV, a value-add opportunistic vehicle.

Steve Spook, senior investment officer for real estate at Florida SBA, said the fund would focus on major property types and assets in major markets.

Florida SBA’s real estate portfolio, with more than $13bn in assets, returned nearly 13% last year, its best-performing asset class.

Real estate makes up 9.4% of the pension fund’s $141.42bn in total plan assets.

The pension fund has a target allocation of 10% for the asset class.

Florida SBA can invest in separate accounts, joint ventures and funds.

The pension fund is now in the process of selling one of its more significant assets in the US, which it has owned for almost 20 years.

The One Front Street office building in San Francisco was the only direct asset the pension fund owned in that market.

The transaction could be one of the largest office asset sales of the year in San Francisco.

The property could sell for around $520m, according to sources with knowledge of the transaction.

Florida paid $103m for the asset in 1996, via Equitable Real Estate Investment Management.

The asset is now managed by Invesco Real Estate.