NETHERLANDS — Dutch civil service pension fund ABP investments has added to its holdings in listed UK real estate companies.

Great Portland Estates, which owns €1.2bn of real estate, mainly in London, said this week the €160bn fund now holds a 4.04% stake, worth around €30m.

ABP holds significant stakes in some of the UK’s largest listed real estate investment and development companies, including Hammerson, Slough Estates, British Land, Workspace, CLS Holdings and Unite.

The combined value of its stakes in UK listed real estate exceeds €700m.

Hammerson finance director Simon Melliss said: “ABP has been a long-term shareholder, but in the past couple of years has increased its stake from around 3% to 7%.” He said ABP was a well-informed but essentially passive investor.

One UK real estate equity analyst commented: “ABP is active in real estate securities worldwide. The UK sector has risen 35% so far this year, with a 15% uplift in the past two months so it’s no surprise ABP continues to be a major institutional player.”

ABP was not available for comment, but the group has previously said it has a 10% real estate allocation, with €16bn invested

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