UK - Fund manager Grosvenor Fund Management (GFM) - which has just signed a joint venture partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to invest in London's West End office market - is seeking to line up similar agreements in the coming months.

The recent JV partnership signed with CPPIB will invest as much as £200m (€226m) in London's West End over the next two years.

The Canadian pension fund will invest £190m in equity, while GFM will bring the remaining £10m and lead asset sourcing and management activities.

The JV will invest in value-add properties with shorter-term lease profiles that can be refurbished to a class-A standard.

The partnership is targeting individual properties worth as much as £100m.

Scott Rowland, commercial fund manager at GFM, told IPE: "We find the London office market particularly attractive, as the city economy is directly linked to the world capital market.

"As the world economy is recovering rapidly, the demand for London offices increases. However, we still see several constraints on the supply side.

"This combination of constraints and demand leads to a very positive upward movement in the rental value growth of the London office market."

Wenzel Hoberg, CPPIB's managing director and head of real estate investments for Europe, said: "This venture with Grosvenor Fund Management provides us with an entry into an attractive, niche commercial real estate market in West End London.

"This investment aligns with our existing European real estate investment strategy."

Rowland also told IPE that Grosvenor is seeking to sign other JV club-style deals in other markets with a wide range of investors over the coming months, as well as look to raise new funds.

James O'Neil, head of marketing and client relations at Grosvenor, added: "In some cases, JVs are more appropriate for large pension funds, as it's easier to agree on the management structure through this type of deal and have things done in a short space of time."

GFM is currently raising additional capital for the £400m core London office fund and hopes to launch a new vehicle in the coming months dedicated to European retail properties.

O'Neil added: "We are currently in the fundraising process for this new fund that will focus on high street businesses in continental Europe and more especially in France and Sweden, as those two countries are showing encouraging signs of recovery. "

GFM is now looking to open a new office in Stockholm before the end of this year.

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