abrdn appointed to help manage Border to Coast UK real estate fund proposition

Border to Coast Pensions Partnership has appointed abrdn to support the launch and portfolio management of its UK real estate proposition.

The pool’s 11 partner funds currently collectively invest around £4 billion in both directly held properties and indirectly through property funds. The Border to Coast UK real estate proposition, due to launch in late 2024, is designed to help partner funds to benefit from the scale that pooling brings.

abrdn will work with Border to Coast’s dedicated internal real estate investment team to support, develop and implement the investment strategy, source high-quality real estate opportunities across the UK, and provide portfolio management services for real estate assets.

Active stewardship and ESG considerations will be embedded into the investment process including both portfolio construction and asset management.

The UK real estate proposition will sit alongside a separate global real estate proposition, due to launch later in 2023 and expected to be around £1 billion in size.

Alistair Smith, head of real estate at Border to Coast, said: “UK real estate is a fundamental asset class for our partner funds’ wider investment strategies.

“Our collective scale will allow us to deliver significant value, enabling us to invest in high quality assets and manage them for the long term, while meeting our responsible investment and net zero commitments.”