Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) announced that it is acquiring a 60% stake in real estate fund manager Tritax for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition comes as parent group Standard Life Aberdeen is set to make an announcement on the future of its Parmenion platform, one of three it owns. Financial Planning Today reported in November that rumours have been swirling about a potential sale of the platform.

ASI said the investment in Tritax is a “step change” and part of a strategy to provide “deeper sector specialism” to its clients.

Tritax is a specialist logistics real estate fund manager with assets under management of approximately £5.1bn. It runs two main listed industrial logistic funds Tritax Big Box REITT plc and Tritax EuroBox plc.

The Tritax team will report to ASI’s global head of real estate Neil Slater.

The announcement from ASI also suggested that a full acquisition could come at a later date with the 60% holding described as an initial investment.

The transaction is expected to close in early 2021 and is subject to regulatory approval.

Stephen Bird, CEO at Standard Life Aberdeen said: “Our growth strategy is built around our clients’ needs and there’s no doubt that our strong capability in private markets, particularly real estate, will be a differentiator for our business. The transaction with Tritax is a compelling strategic fit for our business - it significantly enhances our already strong real estate franchise, in an area of the market which benefits from accelerating trends. It’s a great outcome for us, Tritax and our respective clients.”