Aberdeen Standard Investments is exploring the sale of its £2bn (€2.4bn) direct real estate business in the Nordics.
The potential move comes as the £41bn real estate investment manager focuses on growing its pan-European and global funds business, which itself has become increasingly active in the region.
Neil Slater, deputy head of private markets and global head of real estate, said there had been ”a growing divergence in focus between these two parts of our business”.
He said: “We have a strong, capable and experienced team in the real estate Nordics business focused on investing directly in the local real estate market for local clients. However, this is predominantly a domestic funds and asset management business servicing domestic clients.”
Slater added: “In an internationalised function, there is a need to balance local versus global needs in order to best harness our global fund management capabilities, meet our client needs and be able to focus on new areas of growth to create long-term benefit.”
The potential sale follows a recent real estate strategy review by Aberdeen Standard, which also saw the introduction of a new global real estate leadership team.
Slater, who has been leading the reorganisation, said: “For clients invested in our Nordic direct real estate portfolios, we are committed to finding the best alternative solution for the continued provision of high quality services.
“Any potential sale will not impact on our overall focus on the Nordics, in terms of our pan-European real estate funds investing in the region. The Nordics continues to offer attractive, long-term investment opportunities for global real estate investors.”
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