ING Office Fund (IOF)

ING Office Fund (IOF) invests in office buildings located in key markets throughout the world.  The Fund is a publicly-traded property trust on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and is one of the top 100 listed entities on the ASX.  IOF owns a portfolio of 26 properties across Australia, Europe and the United States, with total assets in excess of  A$3.9 billion.  The Fund also has an indirect interest in a further 88 properties in The Netherlands.

IOF's assets are predominantly located in core office markets with a tenant register comprised of many government and blue chip companies.  The Fund has an average lease term to expiry of 5.3 years (one of the longest in the office sector) and an occupancy rate of 97%.

Strategy

• We invest in key office markets around the world, using ING Real Estate’s global platform to source, secure and manage quality assets. This global reach and local expertise allows us to identify the most attractive opportunities, while developing a geographically-diversified portfolio in some of the world’s premier office markets.
• We focus on properties in sound growth markets that offer attractive occupancy solutions and accommodation flexibility for a wide range of users over the long term.
• We have an asset management approach that aims at building strong relationships with tenants to ensure high levels of retention and occupancy, while continuously assessing value-added and repositioning opportunities.

Investment performance

In the 12 month period from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008 IOF:

• Increased distributable income 9% to $135.5 million;
• Grew underlying distributions 2% to 10.75 cents per unit;
• Delivered a high occupancy rate of 97% and solid tenant retention of 66%; and
• Strengthened balance sheet with reduced gearing of 31% and $538 million of undrawn debt capacity.