UK - The ICL Common Investment Fund, the investment vehicle for the ICL pension fund, made its first allocation to real estate in 2009, and invested £33m (€37.3m) through ING Real Estate Investment Management.

Trustees to the pension fund for ICL pensioners (the company is now Fujitsu) invested £23m in three direct property acquisitions and a further £10m indirectly, all in the UK.

ING REIM is set to target further investments on behalf of the ICL fund in 2010, since the mandate awarded in 2009 is for a total of £120m.

One of the direct purchases was Dukes Park in Harlow, London, a newly-completed trade-counter estate acquired for £4.46m, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.33%. The freehold estate is let to eight tenants with an average term of 10 years unexpired.

Launton Road Retail Park in Bicester, England, was also purchased for £13.5m, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.44%. The property is let to Homebase, Dreams, Pets at Home, Carpetright and Halfords, with an average unexpired lease term of approximately 12.8 years.

The third property was a food store let to Aldi in Colchester, England, with a small adjoining retail unit, purchased for £5.06m, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.95%. The Aldi unit is let for 25 years with fixed rental uplifts equivalent to 2.5% per annum payable every five years.

ING REIM has also invested £10m for the ICL fund's capital in a diversified shopping centre fund.

"Since signing the mandate in May, we have been sourcing prime assets for the fund to satisfy the client's investment objectives," said Mike Daggett, fund manager for ICL at ING REIM.

"The assets we have acquired offer the attraction of a strong income profile and are in sectors which we expect to outperform as the market continues to recover.

"We will be making a number of further acquisitions in 2010, continuing the process of building a balanced portfolio for the fund," he added.

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