ING Real Estate Investment Management has announced the launch of its new Britannica retail fund, which it is intending to grow to £1bn. ING Britannica will invest in shopping centers and target returns of over 11%. Its initial purchase was the Haymarket Shopping Centre in Leicester back in August. The scheme was bought for £77.5m and comprises 337,000 sq ft of retail space.
The fund will be established following the acquisition of a £380m portfolio of shopping centers from a consortium comprising Catalyst Capital, Bank of Scotland and West Coast Capital.
The portfolio comprises County Square in Ashford; The Strand in Bootle; Milburngate in Durham; Rivergate in Irvine; The Spindles & Town Square in Oldham and Swangate in Wellingborough.
ING Britannica will be managed by Ian Cockburn and Aleks Hughes. Catalyst Capital, an investor in the new fund, has been retained as asset manager and will actively seek further acquisitions.
Commenting on the fund, Cockburn said: “ING REIM has an outstanding reputation for delivering successful retail property funds across Europe. We are delighted to bring investors the same opportunities in the UK and are confident that ING Britannica will soon be regarded as one of the premier funds in the ING stable.”
www.efreeman.co.uk
Source: Freeman
