NPS to spend further $1 bn on European property

European investment manager Rockspring Property Investment Managers has received a new $400 mln (EUR 311 mln) investment mandate from the National Pension Service of Korea (NPS) to search for opportunities across Europe.

'We were awarded a new, discretionary, European mandate from NPS which has just been officially signed and effectively begins today,' Kathryn Dixon, a partner at Rockspring, told PropertyEU. With debt, the company's warchest for European acquisitions will amount to close to $1bn.

Rockspring's CEO Robert Gilchrist said that they company will be focusing on core and core plus investment opportunities all across Europe, with a focus on prime, income-producing assets. 'We will look to spend the fresh equity in the next 12-24 months,' Gilchrist said.

The appointment comes shortly after Rockspring's acquisition of a 51% stake in the O'Parinor shopping centre near Paris on behalf of NPS. The property was bought from Hammerson for some EUR 274 mln in the first continental European deal brokered by Rockspring for NPS, the world's fifth largest pension fund.

Within the last 12 months, Rockspring has acquired 40 Grosvenor Place and 88 Wood Street in London on behalf of NPS within this mandate structure, with O’Parinor being the latest addition. The South Korean pension fund has also appointed Pramerica as its investment partner for Asia.