LONDON-Pacific Real Estate Capital Partners, a unit of Pacific Investments, has created a property alternatives unit Pacific Real Estate Alternatives, and is also launching the Liquid Property Fund to invest in a global portfolio of real estate investments.

Set up by Sir John Beckwith and Gerald Parkes, PRECP has appointed Steven Grahame, former CIO of Hermes Real Estate Alternatives, and Toby Hayes, previously with Armstrong IM, to grow the real estate business and, "capitalize on investors’ growing demand for investing in non-traditional, more liquid real estate investments."

Liquid, a perpetually open ended investment company, will provide institutions with diversification through low volatility global liquid property exposure. The group said it will invest tactically, allocating capital into UK and international real estate instruments and transferable securities without attracting the same levels of fees, charges and taxation leakages as holding a direct property or fund of funds portfolio. Strategic investments will include property equities such as REITs, debt in the form of CMBS and RMBS, and derivatives on property indices.