On 1 January 2009 Aberdeen Property Fund Denmark P/S (the Fund) acquired the commercial property portfolio from The Danish Pension Fund for Engineers (DIP). DIP will receive 40% of the acquisition price in shares in the Fund and will become a new important shareholder amongst the existing institutional and professional investors. The remaining 60% will be cash.
Tonny Nielsen, CEO for Aberdeen Property Investors Denmark A/S commented: ”This acquisition expands and strengthens the Fund’s portfolio and we are also pleased to welcome DIP as a shareholder to the Fund.”
The acquired portfolio comprises seven office properties adding approximately 40,000 square meters to the existing 440,000 square meters as well as DKK 487.5 million (EUR 65 million) of assets under management to the Fund. The acquired price reflects a net initial yield at 6.0%.
Tonny Nielsen commented further: “The composition of the portfolio complements the existing investment strategy of the Fund well in terms of size, type and regional focus.”
The majority of rental income comes from public tenants and so the Fund carries a low tenant risk. Aberdeen expects to be able to identify value potential over time through active management therefore creating excess returns for all shareholders.
Søren Kolbye Sørensen, CEO of DIP also commented, ”Being a shareholder in the property fund instead of direct owner of fewer single properties makes strategic sense to DIP. This is because we get higher potential returns through Aberdeen’s active management while also increasing the diversification of our exposure to property.”
Today, DIP has 9% of the total assets of DKK 24 billion invested in property. Søren Kolbye Sørensen noted: “Looking forward, DIP’s investment strategy will involve allocating 6-10% of total assets under management to property. We believe that property as an asset class in the future will ensure our members good pensions, also in the event of increasing inflation.”
In addition to this transaction, Aberdeen Property Investors Denmark took over part of the property management organisation ebh|administration from ebh|bank on 1 January 2009. This added a further DKK 1.5 billion of properties under management bringing total assets under management to DKK 8.7 billion (EUR 1.2 billion).
Tonny Nielsen commented: ”We are pleased to have been able to raise capital in this market. Active management is what Aberdeen is all about. Regardless of difficult market conditions, our track record shows that the professional investor can create excess returns by divesting properties to the right property managers”.
For further information, please contact:
Tonny Nielsen, CEO, Aberdeen Property Investors Denmark A/S
Tel: +45 33 44 40 00, e-mail: tonny.nielsen@aberdeenpropertyinvestors.com
Søren Kolbye Sørensen, CEO, The Danish Pension Fund for Engineers
Tel: +45 82 33 00 00, e-mail: sks@dip.dk
Georgina Pepys, Maitland
Tel : +44 207 379 5151
Aberdeen Property Investors Denmark A/S
Aberdeen Property Investors is the leading property investment manager in Denmark currently managing some DKK 8,7bn of direct property for our institutional clients through separate accounts and collective funds.
In Aberdeen, active management of property is our core competency. Our value chain includes investment, development, letting administration and active management in close cooperation optimising the yield potential in the properties in our funds.
For the third year in a row, Euromoney awarded Aberdeen the 2008 Liquid Real Estate Awards; Best Investment Manager in Denmark.
More information: www.aberdeenpropertyinvestors.dk
About Aberdeen Property Investors
Aberdeen Property Investors is the dedicated property investment division of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, a global investment management group listed on the London Stock Exchange, which manages around EUR 114 billion of assets in equities, fixed income and property.
Aberdeen Property Investors manages some EUR 28 billion of property assets in Europe, Asia and North America through property funds and separate account mandates, making it one of the top 10 global property investment managers.
Clients are solely third party clients and primarily institutional investors, such as life insurers and pension funds. They are served by more than 700 professionals at offices in 11 European countries, as well as in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Our mission is to facilitate domestic and international investment exposure to property by offering a comprehensive range of investment products and services, all supported by a structured investment process and local active management.
More information: www.aberdeenpropertyinvestors.com
The Danish Pension Fund for Engineers
DIP admits members with an academic engineering education and had by the end of 2008 approx. 17,300 members. At the end of 2008 assets under management totalled DKK 24 billion.
DIP was established in 1953 by the Danish Society of Engineers - IDA and is fully owned and managed by its members.
More information: www.dip.dk
Issued and approved by Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited, on behalf of Aberdeen Property Investors, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.