EUROPE - The £1bn Gloucestershire Pension Fund is tendering a UK property mandate worth as much as £100m.

While the initial multi-manager mandate is valued at £10m-30m, the local government pension scheme noted the potential to expand it to £100m.

Interested parties should be aware that no company with less than £500m in assets under management will be considered and that the applied benchmark will be the IPD UK PPFI all balanced funds index.

It said the overall performance target would be decided on after discussion with the manager.

It added: "Gloucestershire Pension Fund may consider allowing flexibility for a modest degree of overseas exposure, but this would be considered an off-benchmark position."

Interested parties should contact Hymans Robertson's Glasgow office for further details.

According to its most recent annual report, Gloucestershire invested 5.8% in real estate, with its UK property mandate returning 14% in the financial year to March 2009 and overall returns on the property portfolio managed by Hermes Investment Management at 13.5%.

Meanwhile, following a recent tender notice for a scheme administrator, the Irish Electricity Supply Board (ESB) is seeking an actuary to aid its defined benefit (DB) scheme in its transition to career average revalued earnings (CARE).

The ESB is now tendering a three-year contract for scheme actuary, with an additional three-year extension possible upon satisfactory completion.

Any applicant will be expected to take on full actuarial responsibility for the DB scheme as it moves from a final salary to a CARE arrangement in January 2012.

Interested parties should detail similar contracts undertaken in the last three years and provide information on the professional qualifications held by employees.

All applications must be made before 20 December.