The Highland County Council pension fund has awarded Standard Life Investments a 拢55m (鈧�73.6m) mandate to invest in property debt.
The UK pension fund made the decision last month after considering 11 managers, according to documents filed with the EU.
It judged the Standard Life Investments strategy the most 鈥渆conomically advantageous鈥� tender in terms of quality and price.
The pension fund first tendered the mandate for a new 4% allocation to UK commercial real estate debt just over one year ago.
The council, which had always preferred a single investment manager, began considering the strategy in 2014.
In minutes from a meeting in August 2014, Highland said property debt had the 鈥渃haracteristics of fixed income鈥� and decided that its best option was a dedicated property debt fund.
A pooled vehicle, it said, would need to focus 鈥渆xclusively, or primarily, on UK property debt鈥�.
Discretion to invest to a limited level in other regions, such as Western European countries, was also part of the pension fund鈥檚 criteria.
Highland said it preferred a property debt fund focused primarily on whole loans but with discretion to invest to a limited level in the wider spectrum of loans, such as senior debt and mezzanine debt.
The investment is being funded mainly from Gilts (2.5%), with the balance 鈥� 1.5% 鈥� expected to be funded from equities.
Standard Life Investments began making real estate debt investments in the UK , having secured 拢250m in insurance capital from its parent. Neil Odom-Haslett was appointed head of commercial real estate lending in the same year.
