GLOBAL - Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund has made its first significant property investment outside London with the purchase of a Sainsbury's distribution shed in Dartford, Kent.

The fund paid £80m (€90.3m), reflecting a net initial yield of 6.25%, to a fund managed by Tristan Capital Partners and AEW Europe.

Tristan and AEW were advised by Jones Lang LaSalle, while the Employees Provident Fund was advised by Dowley Turner Real Estate.

In other news, London & Stamford Property has signed a contract with Kilmorie Investments to acquire the long leasehold interest in 74 private residential units and 30 car parking spaces on Clapham Road, London, for £24.4m.

London & Stamford has paid a deposit of £2.4m for vacant possession of the recently developed apartments, with completion expected in mid-September.

The acquisition of the 999-year leasehold will be financed initially out of existing cash resources.

Moving to the US, CB Richard Ellis Investors has acquired a class-A office property in Houston, Texas.

The purchase, which was made on behalf of the CBRE Strategic Partners US Value 5 fund, will see CB Richard Ellis Investors introduce a spec suite programme featuring fully built-out space with clean finishes for tenants seeking a turn-key office option.

Still in the US, the real estate investment manager, Clarion Partners, has acquired an industrial property portfolio from Prologis for $118m (€82m).

The portfolio consists of 13 distribution properties in several cities in the US, including Columbus, Dallas, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Tracy in California.

The properties are, on average, more than 90% leased, with a diverse tenant base.

In other news, the New Mexico State Investment Council (SIC), which manages the state's $15bn oil and gas endowment, has established a 10% real return allocation, which could include investments in timber and infrastructure.

It has also started to look for an investment officer to direct the real return group.

SIC is looking for a director who will be a member of the investment committee and implement the real return portfolio strategy.

The director will be responsible for "monitoring the universe of institutional quality managers" in areas including real assets - which encompass timber, energy, agriculture and infrastructure investments - inflation-linked securities, hedge fund strategies and real estate investments.

Finally, in Asia, the private equity real estate investor MGPA bought a 50% stake in a Chinese shopping centre for RMB422m (€46m).

The stake in Galleria Chengdu, located in the city of Chengdu, was sold by GTC Real Estate China, a subsidiary of GTC RE, the real estate arm of Amsterdam-listed Kardan.

GTC China retains a 50% stake in Galleria Chengdu and continues to manage and operate the shopping centre.

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