EUROPE - Henderson Global Investors' European real estate fund of funds has invested in two UK funds via the secondary market and attracted new capital from a UK pension fund.
The Henderson Indirect Property Fund Europe has made its first investment in the UK property market by acquiring units in the Standard Life Core UK Shopping Centre Trust and the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund.
The secondary trades were worth €11.7m and €11.8m, respectively, providing its investors with immediate source of new income and capital growth in the short term, Henderson said.
The fund of funds managers also received a new equity subscription worth €8.25m from an unnamed UK pension fund.
The €419m fund of funds vehicle aims eventually to have €1bn in European real estate funds.
Henderson said the new transactions improved the fund's diversification within Europe and reduced its cash weighting from 15% to 8%.
Fund manager Nick Evans said the fund of funds provided access to "a diversified portfolio of best-in-class managers, with strategic entry and exit in European markets at optimal market cycles".
He added: "These latest investments represent our current views on the UK market, for which we are forecasting solid index-linked income returns in the student accommodation sector and defensive income streams via prime, dominant shopping centres."
