The Aviva Central European Property Fund (ACEPF), launched by Morley Fund Management and King Sturge in January 2005, has appointed SachsenFonds as co- asset manager to the Fund. SachsenFonds will work alongside King Sturge and be jointly responsible for the procurement of investment opportunities and the ongoing asset management of the fund across Central Europe.
- Fund completes 5 transactions in first 6 months
- Fund raises an additional €30 million of equity commitments
The Aviva Central European Property Fund (ACEPF), launched by Morley Fund Management and King Sturge in January 2005, has appointed SachsenFonds as co-asset manager to the fund. SachsenFonds will work alongside King Sturge and be jointly responsible for the procurement of investment opportunities and the ongoing asset management of the Fund across Central Europe.
SachsenFonds GmbH specialises in the structuring and syndication of tax-privileged capital investments and has been one of the largest investors in the Central European property market since 2002 with the acquisition of a number of high profile buildings in Warsaw, Prague and Budapest.
Since launching the fund in January, ACEPF has already made five acquisitions totalling €116.5 million in value. These include: two office buildings in Warsaw (Poland); two logistics warehouses in Poznan (Poland) and Bucharest (Romania); and Alkotas Point in Budapest (Hungary). Alkotas Point was developed by AIG Lincoln and is generally regarded as one of the highest quality office buildings in Budapest. The fund is also aiming to complete on a further €35 million of investment transactions over the next four weeks.
In June, the fund completed a second closing with commitments received from three new investors, bringing the total equity commitments to approximately €110 million.
Commenting on the fund’s first six months, Julian Taylor, fund manager for ACEPF at Morley Fund Management, said: "The Aviva Central European Property Fund has had a highly successful first six months seeing high investor interest combined with a strong pipeline of investment opportunities.
"We have picked the best of these opportunities, closing them in what is currently a very competitive market, and are building the foundations of a high quality portfolio"
ACEPF was launched in January this year by Morley and is targeted at pan-European institutional investors and pension schemes. The Fund will aim to raise in excess of €200 million of equity commitments establishing a portfolio of investment properties across the office, warehouse and retail sectors over a three year period, with a total value of approximately €600 million. The Fund aims to deliver a dividend yield to investors in excess of 7.5% per annum and an investor IRR exceeding 12% per annum over its ten year life.
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For further information please contact:
Laura Cook, Corporate Communications Executive 020 7809 8125
Laura.cook@morleyfm.com
About the Central European Property Fund
Structure: Luxembourg FCP
Closed Ended: maximum 10 year life span
Minimum investment: €1 million
Distribution: quarterly
Currency Denomination: Euro
Pricing: quarterly
Maximum Gearing: 60% loan to value
King Sturge
King Sturge is one of the leading firms of Chartered Surveyors in Europe. It has over 1400 staff in 33 directly owned offices, including 60 staff in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia. King Sturge manages approximately €450 million of assets and has advised on €500 million of investment acquisitions in the Central European region. It has a dedicated research team of 16 analysts providing top-down and bottom-up analysis and a disciplined and rigorous investment process with strong risk controls.
SachsenFonds GmbH
SachsenFonds is a subsidiary of Landesbank Sachsen Group. SachsenFond’s team of professionals have experience of investment business in Germany and internationally, often collaborating closely with experienced German and international partners. Whilst experienced in all kinds of investment portfolios, SachsenFonds has particular expertise of real estate funds, being adviser or manager to in excess of 13 real estate funds as at 2004. Central Europe plays a major role in SachsenFonds investment focus with Central European investments accounting for approximately 50 per cent. of SachsenFonds’ real estate portfolio.
Morley Fund Management
Morley Fund Management (‘Morley’) is a London based, asset management business with over Ł134 billion** under management. The property team manages in excess of Ł17 billion of UK and European property assets, making Morley the largest property fund manager in Europe. Winners of the high profile Property Week Fund Manager of the Year Award 2004 and the UK Pensions Awards Property Fund Manager of the Year 2005, the team consists of over 60 investment professionals and manages a range of funds on behalf of institutional, pension and retail clients. Morley has been at the forefront of innovation in property fund management and has launched thirteen specialist sector based funds with partners, including the Jersey-based Unit Trusts: Igloo Regeneration Fund, Quercus Healthcare Property, The Junction and The Mall.
Visit www.morleyproperty.com
**Not including mortgage assets, as at 30/06/05