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

Set up by Sir John Beckwith and Gerald Parkes, PRECP hasappointed Steven Grahame, former CIO of Hermes Real EstateAlternatives, and Toby Hayes, previously with Armstrong IM, to growthe real estate business and, "capitalize on investors’ growingdemand for investing in non-traditional, more liquid real estateinvestments."

Liquid, a perpetually open ended investment company, willprovide institutions with diversification through low volatilityglobal liquid property exposure. The group said it will investtactically, allocating capital into UK and international realestate instruments and transferable securities without attractingthe same levels of fees, charges and taxation leakages as holding adirect property or fund of funds portfolio. Strategic investmentswill include property equities such as REITs, debt in the form ofCMBS and RMBS, and derivatives on property indices.