Aberdeen Asset Management’s £660m takeover of rival Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has claimed its first senior casualty.
The firm’s group head of property, Andrew Smith, left the firm two weeks ago “by mutual consent” after nearly 12 years with the group, revealed EGi on Thursday.
It is understood that Smith, who joined the Scottish giant as head of investment strategy in 2002 from Henderson before taking up his current role in 2010, does not have a new position lined up.
His former role will be split between Aberdeen’s head of fund management, property, Pertti Vanhanen, who will become group head of property, and Russell Chaplin, chief investment officer of the property division.
A spokesman said no further senior appointments were expected to the £23bn Aberdeen property division, which will emerge after it takes over £8bn of SWIP assets.
This raises questions over a future role for SWIP’s director of real estate, Linda Shillaw.
Shillaw replaced Malcolm Naish at the Lloyds-owned investment manager at the beginning of the year, leaving her role as corporate real estate boss at the bank.
SWIP’s head of UK real estate investment Peter Lillington and head of international real estate and strategy Robert Matthews jointly led the real estate team between Naish’s departure in 2012 and Shillaw’s start. Sources also said the future of SWIP’s Edinburgh HQ was at risk as Aberdeen has a London HQ.
Despite these uncertainties the property tie-up between Europe-focused multi-manager Aberdeen and UK-centric in-house client manager SWIP is viewed largely as a good fit.
It pushes Aberdeen into the top five European real estate managers, although property comprises only 7% – down from 8% – of the enlarged FTSE 100 group’s holdings.
In the UK it climbs into the top three with the addition of the £2.4bn Property Trust, managed by Gerry Ferguson, and a further £2.4m of Lloyds mandates ?formerly managed by Invista.
Bridget.O’Connell@estatesgazette.com
