Teesland iOG, part of the Australian Valad Property Group, has announced the successful first closing of its commercial property Nordic Aktiv Fund 2. Following on from Nordic Aktiv Fund 1, the second fund raised EUR 90 mln, including Valad's EUR 7.5 mln co-investment. The fund will invest in high- yielding real estate on a multi-sector basis with a focus on light industrial estates, secondary offices and mixed commercial assets in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The fund’s investment strategy is in line with Valad’s core philosophy of creating value and exploiting active management opportunities for income growth.

Teesland iOG, part of the Australian Valad Property Group, has announced the successful first closing of its commercial property Nordic Aktiv Fund 2. Following on from Nordic Aktiv Fund 1, the second fund raised EUR 90 mln, including Valad's EUR 7.5 mln co-investment. The fund will invest in high- yielding real estate on a multi-sector basis with a focus on light industrial estates, secondary offices and mixed commercial assets in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The fund’s investment strategy is in line with Valad’s core philosophy of creating value and exploiting active management opportunities for income growth.

Peter Hurley, Valad's executive chairman for Europe, said: 'The first capital raising is oversubscribed having exceeded our target raise, and has come ahead of schedule. We had initially anticipated a first closure of EUR 75 mln by the end of January. The outcome reflects both the impressive performance of both Nordic Aktiv 1and the opportunity that this fund provides to gain access to strongly performing sectors of the Nordic property market.

'There remains strong interest from investors who were unable to meet the first closure deadline. We are comfortable with our final target for 2008 to raise a total of EUR 150 mln for Nordic Aktiv 2, although we believe that it is likely to be exceeded, and likely to be achieved earlier than anticipated,' he added.

Michael Bruhn, head of the Group’s Nordic Region, added: 'The Fund provides exposure to Europe’s most successful economic block. The Nordic economies have consistently outperformed the European average over the last decade and the region’s outperformance is set to continue'. The fund has an ultimate asset size of EUR 850 mln to provide significant diversification across countries and sectors and a two-year acquisition programme. 'We have an acquisition pipeline of EUR 300 mln currently under negotiation and a further EUR 300 mln under investigation. Given the opportunities on the horizon, we are confident we will be able to repeat the success of Nordic Aktiv 1,' Bruhn said.