Hansteen launches UK industrial property fund

Hansteen has announced the launch of the Hansteen UK Industrial Property Unit Trust (HIPUT). The fund will seek to invest up to £180 mln in UK industrial property.

The fund has been launched with £90 mln of equity of which £30 mln is provided by Hansteen and the remainder from five institutional investors. The fund will be geared to a maximum of 50% once the equity has been invested giving a total fund size of £180 mln.

Morgan Jones, Joint CEO of Hansteen said: 'This fund, coupled with £200 mln raised recently gives us over £500 mln of buying power in a market which is presenting some unprecedented opportunities. In addition to the return on our investment and our management fee we have the opportunity to receive a disproportionate share of any outperformance in the fund we generate.'

Ian Watson, Joint CEO added: 'We had identified the opportunity to gain further exposure to the industrial property cycle through the formation of limited life funds with third party investors, at the time of our recent fundraising, which we successfully closed in July. We are delighted this has now come to fruition.'

HIPUT will be managed by Hansteen Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hansteen and will be Hansteen's vehicle for investing in UK industrial property with a value of £15 mln or less, or portfolios under £30 mln.

The fund, which will be focussed on both high income generation as well as growth in net assets, is targeting annual returns, after fees and expenses, of 12% to 15%. Net income will be distributed quarterly. The life of the fund will be six years.