NETHERLANDS – Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering, the €2bn Dutch hotel and catering industry fund, is looking at expanding its private equity coverage.

It’s looking at awarding two mandates of around €50m each, portfolio manager Nick van Nifterick told IPE. The fund already has €100m with AlpInvest, the private equity house founded by ABP and PGGM.

The fund was also looking at possibly investing in commodities, though it has decided to say no to hedge funds due to their lack of transparency.

He went along with the Dutch financial regulator AFM, which said earlier this month that hedge funds’ lack of transparency was a cause for concern.

Van Nifterick was speaking at the opening this week of Horeca’s new offices in Zoetermeer outside The Hague.

The fund is unusual in that it has decided to take administration back in-house and the new building is designed to accommodate the growth in staff numbers.

It aims to run all participants’ administration in-house by January 1 2006, taking over from PVF Achmea.

Horeca has 35,000 employer members and a total of 574,900 participants. The sector is unusual because of the turnover of staff and the frequency with which companies come and go.