The PNO Media pension fund for media workers in the Netherlands has allocated €50m to Syntrus Achmea’s Dutch Retail Property Fund.
It increased its allocation from a previous €3.1m investment on the advice of Sweco Capital Consultants (previously Grontmij).
Erick van Koppen, senior portfolio manager at Sweco, said quality retail assets in the main Dutch cities were attracting attention from domestic and international investors, as capital values and rental growth gathered pace.
“We felt it was therefore an appropriate time for our client to increase exposure to the market,” van Koppen said.
“The Syntrus Achmea Retail Fund offered the right combination of quality assets and solid performance to implement the investment strategy.”
The fund invests in prime retail locations in the main cities of the Netherlands, as well as shopping centres dominant in their local catchment areas.
The retail fund, backed by 21 investors, has outperformed the market benchmark for the last five years, generating an average annual return of 4.6%, above the IPD Dutch all-property benchmark of 3.8%.
The fund has 21 investors and had invested €674m by the end of last year.
