REAL ESTATE - European pension fund managers still plan to invest in the UK and continental real estate markets despite a widespread downward revision of expectations, according to an in-house poll of pension fund managers conducted by ING Real Estate.

The poll of 198 ING pension fund clients and some non-client pension funds found that, faced with price inflation in the market for UK commercial, most investors (70%) were seeking a return of above 8%.

Office dominates the UK pension fund wish list, with 65% of pension funds saying they planned to invest over the next year. The figure compares to 17% for industrial and 9% for retail and warehousing.

The prognosis for continental European real estate was similarly bullish, with 65% of UK pension funds polled seeking mainland exposure – a 30% increase over 2005. No figures were available on specifically which European markets pension funds perceived as investable.