Unilever pension fund to dispose of EUR 600m of property

Progress, the pension fund of soap-to-soup manufacturer Unilever, has instructed CB Richard Ellis to market its Dutch direct property portfolio worth about EUR 600 mln.

The pension fund signalled last year that it intended to alter its investment focus to non-listed international real estate funds.

The portfolio comprises 52 blocks with 2,400 homes and 40,000 m² of retail space in the Netherlands. Progress said the assets could be sold as individual units or in clusters in a transparent process.

Preparations for the sales are under way and a select number of investors will be invited to bid for all or portions of the portfolio by the end of February. The pension fund hopes to complete the sale in the second quarter of this year.