All articles by Richard Lowe – Page 80
-
News
Progress to reinvest direct capital in Dutch ING REIM funds
NETHERLANDS – Progress, the Unilever pension fund, has decided to invest in two Dutch real estate funds managed by ING Real Estate Investment Management following the disposal of its directly held domestic portfolio.
-
News
Dexia, Gimv joint venture launches Benelux infrastructure fund
EUROPE – An infrastructure and real estate fund focusing on the Benelux region has been launched following demand from Belgian pension fund and insurance companies for low-risk, non-listed exposure to the sector.
-
News
PwC survey reveals pressure on London office fundamentals
UK – Activity in the UK financial services in the last three months was lower than expected, despite increasing at the fastest rate since the onset of the credit crunch, prompting concerns over the outlook for the London office market.
-
News
Pension funds get on board for Rockspring's UK value drive
UK – Rockspring Property Investment Managers has raised £336m (€409m) in capital commitments for its UK Value fund from 12 pension funds and institutional investors from Europe and Australasia.
-
News
BPF Bouw opens Dutch portfolio to other pension funds
NETHERLANDS – BPF Bouw, the pension fund for Dutch construction workers, will offer other pension funds access to its €4bn domestic real estate portfolio so it can increase its weighting to global property markets.
-
News
Fund of funds managers switch to core and debt strategies
GLOBAL – Investment strategies in the fund of funds (FoF) sector have changed significantly over the past two years, and opportunistic and value-added products have lost out as a result, according to new research.
-
News
Redington, M&G talk up UK social housing debt opportunity
UK – Pension funds in the UK are being encouraged to consider financing social housing as an alternative to inflation-linked bonds.
-
News
Investors back L&G’s tried and tested industrial fund
UK – Legal & General Property (LGP) has raised new equity for its Industrial Property Investment fund (IPIF) following interest from existing investors to increase their exposure.
-
News
CalPERS acquires 12.7% stake in London Gatwick Airport
GLOBAL – The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has acquired a 12.7% stake in London Gatwick Airport from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
-
News
Czech investors and foreign institutions go separate ways
CZECH REPUBLIC – Property transaction volumes in the Czech Republic have picked up in the first quarter of 2010 relative to the same period last year, as cross border and local investors targeted different ends of the market, according to DTZ.
-
News
Swiss pension funds to invest in India and Japan this year
GLOBAL – AFIAA, the global property investor owned by 18 Swiss pension funds, is aiming to make real estate investments in Japan and India before the end of 2010.
-
News
INREV committee calls for more independent fund directors
EUROPE – More European non-listed real estate funds must appoint independent directors to their management boards if corporate governance in the sector is to be improved, according to a new report.
-
News
German investors to ramp up indirect real estate exposure
GERMANY – German institutional investors are expected to invest on average more than €300m in real estate during 2010 and more than €26bn in total over the next three years, a large proportion of which will be directed to indirect vehicles, according to two separate studies.
-
News
USS continues to blaze UK acquisition trail
UK – Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) has continued its 18-month UK real estate spending spree with the purchase of an office building in London's West End for £42m (€50.8m).
-
News
Interest rate swaps blocking UK disposal pipeline, Savills says
UK – The prohibitive cost of unwinding interest rate swaps on real estate debt is preventing financial institutions from offloading a growing volume of distressed UK assets, according to Savills.
-
News
US and Ireland set for spike in distressed sales
GLOBAL – Ireland and the US are expected to see a significant increase in distressed real estate sales in the short term, according to research from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
-
News
PGGM won over by SLI's responsible investment credentials
NETHERLANDS/UK – PGGM, the Dutch pension fund asset manager, has invested €75m in a UK shopping centre fund managed by Standard Life Investments.
-
News
Survey shows UK pension funds to increase real estate exposure
UK – More than one-third of UK pension funds with existing real estate investments are actively looking to increase their exposure, while a small number remain unsure about the asset class, according to a survey by Aberdeen Asset Management.
-
News
AP4 acquires €565m of Swedish residential assets
SWEDEN – The Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund (AP4) has made one of the largest ever residential investments in the country.
-
MagazineCaution the watchword
Market sentiment is improving but fundraising remains slow. Growing competition in the core space means managers need to find creative solutions to meet demand. Richard Lowe reports
