Orchard Street Investment Management has won the mandate to manage £300m of the BBC pension fund’s property portfolio.
The broadcaster has split this portion of its UK holdings – previously managed by CBRE – from its £1.1bn real estate portfolio.
It is understood that the new appointment has taken place because CBRE director Edward Luker, who has been a long-time manager of the fund, is scaling back his involvement.
CBRE continues to advise on the remainder of the BBC’s European and UK property assets.
According to the BBC pension scheme’s annual report to 31 March, its global property portfolio was valued at £1.1bn, reflecting 12% of the scheme’s overall investments.
At this date it said the “scheme owned 76 properties in the UK, with a total market value of £542.6m, 93.5% by value being freehold and the remainder held on leases exceeding 100 years”.
The rest of the fund’s real estate assets are located in Europe and the US.
The win will take Orchard Street’s assets under management to close to £3bn when it takes up the new role at the end of the month.
In April the firm, which was set up in 2004, said it was launching a second £200m Special Situations fund with GIC Real Estate.
Last September, it won the mandate for St James Place’s £626m SJP UK Property Fund and the £184m SJP Authorised Property Unit Trust, formerly managed by Invista REIM.
