The £6.8bn (€9.24bn) Merseyside Pension Fund is searching to replace the day-to-day manager for its near £400m property portfolio.

The local government pension scheme (LGPS) appointed CBRE to run its portfolio in 2009 but is now tendering for a new manager, on a six to ten-year contract.

CBRE was initially awarded a four-year contract in 2009, replacing Savills, before then being given a two year extension.

The property manager will run the day-to-day operations for its portfolio that includes shopping centres in the South East of England, a business park and a building in London’s Mayfair district.

Merseyside is also tendering for a property adviser which will liaise with the scheme, and the manager, to ensure all valuations and stakeholders have up-to-date information on the portfolio.

The pension fund’s property holdings rose 18% in value over the year to April 2015, becoming the biggest contributor of growth to the portfolio’s 12.6% return – which itself was two percentage points above benchmark.

Merseyside was among a group of UK local authorities and US pension funds backing a new sustainable UK real estate fund this year.

Bridges Ventures, an ‘impact investment’ specialist, raised £212m for the Bridges Property Alternatives Fund III.