The ESB Pension Fund has transferred ownership of €70 million worth of investment properties to IPUT (Irish Property Unit Trust), according to a report in today’s Irish Times.
Under the new arrangement the pension fund will become one of the major stakeholders in the trust, which manages property investments for a range of pension funds worth around €445 million.
The ESB Pension Fund is one of the largest in the country with total assets of close to €3 billion. The decision to swop seven property investments producing a rental income of €8 million for units in the trust will allow the ESB fund to benefit from a wider mix of properties, particularly modern office investments in Dublin city centre.
IPUT has 55% of its assets tied up in the core Dublin office market which is expected to offer enhanced returns in the medium term due to the fall off in speculative developments.
Niall Gaffney, chief executive of IPUT, told the Times that their revenues had held up well and he anticipated paying investors a net income yield for 2011 of just over 8%.
The highest value property in the ESB fund is the BT2 store in Grafton Street, which is valued at around €20 million.
Read the full article in The Irish Times here.
