Fund manager Celexa is expanding further into Scandinavia as well as targeting France and Germany to increase its client base
It has been just over two years since Celexa Real Estate Investment Management was spun out of the investment management division of Swedish pension fund SPP. The fund manager has taken on third-party work, increasing its assets under management from SKr17.3bn to SKr25.14bn.
The fund manager operates from Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands. In the UK, Celexa achieved returns of 17.7% against the 15.2% IPD benchmark for 1999. The portfolio in the UK is split to around 42% in retail, 39% in offices and 19% in industrial.
In the Netherlands, around €180m of assets are managed, with the office also undertaking work for clients in Germany and France. Celexa Netherlands outperformed the IPD/ROZ Netherlands all property index, returning 18.1% against 13%. The IPD/ROZ is made up of 50% residential. Celexa Netherlands does not manage any residential directly, and estimates that its total return for 1999 is 16.8%.
In Sweden, the company has assets under management of SKr15.5bn.
The fund manager is keen to reduce its dependence on SPP. “We want to create an independent company, reducing the reliance on SPP to 50% of the company,” says managing director of Celexa Sweden Rickard Backlund.
The client base has been increased to include private German clients investing in the Dutch market and separate account work. It is also making moves to increase its work through fund creation.
It is advising US real estate investor WP Carey to invest €750m into the UK market. WP Carey will take tenants on of a weaker covenant and stock of a secondary nature to produce attractive yields. Celexa will also manage the portfolio.
In Sweden, Celexa advised and undertook due diligence when Deutsche Bank, “hman Real Estate Fund and SPP bought 15 post office distribution centres from the Postens Pension Fund for €280m; it has now been retained as asset manager.
The Netherlands office has advised its client Dr Peters GmbH & Co on sourcing deals for Dr Peters’ first closed-end Dutch fund. A second fund is expected soon.
This year has also seen the first Celexa funds being marketed to investors. Its first, the Celogix pan-European fund, expects to grow to €250m by the end of 2002, targeting distribution space in 24 eurozone “hotspots”. ABN Amro is sole capital raiser for the fund which will have an internal rate of return over its seven-year lifetime of more than 10%.
The second fund, launched last month, was a £200m fund for Irish investors targeting the UK. The fund has £50m of equity, which will be levered up to £200m, and will invest in retail warehousing, central London offices and high street retail.
Celexa already operates from the three countries with the most mature pension systems but it sees opportunities in many of the main European markets.
Celexa has made moves to grow its operations in Scandinavia. It will open offices in Finland and Norway, with Denmark expected to follow shortly.
The main hurdle is going to be convincing clients that Celexa’s skills are needed. “Outside the UK, there is a very low awareness of portfolio or asset management,” says managing director Philip Ingman.
To help counter this, the company will go in through the property management route. It will buy existing operations or team up with local partners. Property management is seen by Celexa as a good step to offering more strategic asset management.
Celexa REIM
234 Knightsbridge
London
SW7 1DN
Tel 44 020 7590 3700
Fax 44 020 7590 3800
