Cordea Savills is launching its Nordic Retail Fund to offer institutional investors exposure to the retail sector in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark, as well as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The international property fund manager said the Nordic and Baltic States 'offers favourable economic and investment characteristics where attractive risk-adjusted returns with a high income distribution and strong capital gains can be achieved from retail property investment.
Cordea Savills is launching its Nordic Retail Fund to offer institutional investors exposure to the retail sector in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark, as well as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The international property fund manager said the Nordic and Baltic States 'offers favourable economic and investment characteristics where attractive risk-adjusted returns with a high income distribution and strong capital gains can be achieved from retail property investment.
The fund has a target size in excess of EUR 500 mln and will target a total return of 10% per annum over its 10-year life. Cordea Savills said a seed portfolio of five assets has been purchased for about EUR 150 mln. The assets are a 'dominant and modern' retail warehouse in Skelleftea, Sweden and one district and two neighbourhood shopping centres as well as an automall in the Helsinki Metropolitan area. 'All four of the Helsinki assets are prominently located in highly populated areas with strong transport links'.
The launch of the fund in the form of a Luxembourg investment vehicle follows the recent establishment of Cordea Savills' Stockholm office, which has responsibility for the Nordic region and the Baltic States.
Hakan Blixt, portfolio manager of the fund, commented: 'Our focus is on shopping centres and retail warehouses where we can add value and benefit from increased income distribution and strong capital growth. Older shopping centres or first generation retail warehousing, where we can reposition assets and improve the retail offer, are of particular interest'.
