UK - Tyne and Wear Pension Fund has published an invitation to tender for management of its £350m segregated direct UK property portfolio.

The mandate will be carried out on an advisory basis.

Small allocations to indirect UK property will also be considered.

The current manager is Aberdeen Property Investors.

Ian Bainbridge, the fund's investment manager, said the tender process was intended to test the market.

"Aberdeen have managed our UK property portfolio for more than 20 years, and they themselves will be tendering," he said.

"But it has been a long time since we tested the market, and we think it's appropriate to find out what's available."

UK property makes up 8% of the fund's total portfolio of £4.8bn.

A further 4.5% is invested in global real estate through Partners Group, primarily via fund-of-fund investments.

The expansion into global property has occurred only in the past two years, after a strategic review increased the fund's overall allocation to property to 12.5%.

The UK allocation, however, was cut from 10% to 8%.

The tender specifications for the UK property mandate are currently being finalised with consultants Hymans Robertson.

Bainbridge said: "The criteria will be based on people and process, and we will look for delivery of a good long-term figures from the fund."

Interested parties have until 16 May to request additional documents and should contact Hymans Robertson.

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