Pension fund acquires Copenhagen property portfolio

Danish pension fund PFA has acquired a 13-asset real estate portfolio in Copenhagen from financial services group Nykredit.

PFA has placed the assets in a new fund and entered into a partnership with the Thylander Group, which will handle project development for the properties.

The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Catella and Gorrissen Federspiel advised Copenhagen-based Nykredit. Bech Bruun, Sadolin & Albæk, Lars Gitz Architects and Grontmij acted for the vendor.

The portfolio comprises 36,000 m2 of residential, retail and office premises.

'It is very rare that we see a portfolio like this in the market, and we are pleased to have succeeded in acquiring the properties in close collaboration with the Thylander Group. The portfolio is a good match for the property portfolio of PFA. A number of the properties are to be developed, and we see great potential in the portfolio, which we expect to generate a comfortable and stable return for PFA,' said Michael Bruhn, director of PFA’s property company PFA Ejendomme.

The fund is a closed fund with PFA as the sole investor. The pension fund and Thylander Group aim to strengthen their partnership further by launching another fund aimed at buying up similar properties in the Greater Copenhagen Area.

PFA is Denmark’s largest commercial pension company, managing pension assets valued at DKK 370 bn (almost €50 bn). PFA Ejendomme ranks among the largest institutional investors in the Danish property market and its portfolio is valued at almost €2.3 bn.

Thylander Group is one of Denmark’s leading private equity real estate companies. It manages 300,000 m2 of real estate across four funds for institutional and high-net-worth individuals.