Scottish Widows Investment Partnership and Cushman & Wakefield Investors have announced the first close of their Pan-European Urban Retail fund (PURetail) with EUR 100 mln in equity committed by three European institutional investors.

Following this first close and allowing for leverage, the manager will be able to deploy EUR 200 mln in acquisitions, the two companies said in a statement.

PURetail's focus is on core-plus assets in the retail sector in high street and city centre locations within stable and mature markets; Germany, France, Sweden and the UK. These locations offer the greatest liquidity and opportunity to benefit from a general economic recovery, the statement said.

The fund is targeting a net total return of 10-12% per annum, and will have a duration of eight years and a three-year investment period. The total equity target is EUR 250 mln and the fund will remain open for a further period to allow for a second closing at a later stage.