Select property fund increases direct Asia pacific exposure

Standard Life Investments, one of the largest property fund managers in Europe, has announced that it has made its second direct investment in the Asia Pacific property market with the acquisition of a property in Sydney, Australia for AU$26m.

Acquired from GE Real Estate Investments Australia Pty Ltd on behalf of SLI’s Select Property Fund, 16 Spring Street is located in Sydney’s central business district. It comprises a net lettable area of 3,135sqm with 10 upper floors of office accommodation and ground and mezzanine retail space. Tenants include Malaysian Airlines, Consulate of Malaysia and The Malaysian Trade Commission.

In May 2007, SLI made its first direct investment in the Asia Pacific property market with the acquisition of a property in Perth, Australia for AU$47m. Purchased from Colonial First State Global Asset Management on behalf of the Select Property Fund, 55 St Georges Terrace is located in Perth’s central business district.

Andrew Jackson, Manager of the Select Property Fund, Standard Life Investments, said: “This acquisition cements the £1.4 billion Select Property Fund’s strategy as truly global. In addition to REIT and listed property company holdings in North and South America, as well as throughout Europe and across Asia Pacific, the Select Property Fund now has more than 20% of its portfolio invested in direct property investments in Europe and Asia Pacific.

“The purchase of 16 Spring Street complements our existing office building in Perth and ties in both with our view of the robustness of the Australian property market and with our aim to bring the Fund’s direct property exposure to 25% of its total portfolio. The Sydney office market is extremely buoyant at present. It is benefiting from strong occupier demand which, added to a muted development supply pipeline, augers well for attractive returns going forward.”

The first of its kind in the marketplace the Select Property Fund offers both institutional and retail investors in the UK access to global property markets. The Fund accesses commercial property markets via direct investment, unquoted specialist property products and stock exchange listed property vehicles globally. With a fund size of over £1.43bn, and despite recent volatility the performance of the fund has been strong, with the retail accumulation unit price rising 28.6% since launch.