Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance, the specialist manager of property and mortgage investments for institutional investors, has secured a €25m mandate for its Dutch Retail Property Fund from Stichting Pensioenfonds voor Fysiotherapeuten (SPF, Pension Fund for Physiotherapists).
SPF’s mandate is the second increase in the investment base of the Achmea Dutch Retail Property Fund this year. In April, PNO Media increased its allocation in the fund from €3.1m to €50m. Both SPF and PNO Media were advised by Sweco Capital Consultants. The Achmea Dutch Retail Property Fund invests in properties in prime high street locations and in dominant shopping centres. Since 2011, the fund’s returns have outperformed the IPD benchmark, reflecting the fund’s active asset management strategy. Examples of this at work include the major redevelopment of Makado shopping centre in Beek (in the Province of Limburg) and the fund’s increased investment in Rotterdam’s Lijnbaan high street. Besides that, the fund sold 11 dwellings that were not core to its strategy.
During the past five years, the retail fund has generated an average annual return of 4.6 percent, which is considerably higher than the 3.8 percent return of the IPD Benchmark. The fund has 21 investors and at the end of 2015 had a total of €674m of assets under management. When the portfolios of discretionary clients are also included, Syntrus Achmea RE&F manages a total of €2bn euros of retail real estate.
“This new mandate validates our strategy of active asset management and making selective investments in the best retail locations. This approach has proven to add value, and provides a solid base for the outperformance of the fund, ” said Marga Boerman, the manager of the Achmea Dutch Retail Property Fund.
