NETHERLANDS – The pension fund of UK engineering business Mowlem has appointed Kas Bank of the Netherlands to run a £60m (E87m) custody mandate.

In a statement, the Mowlem pension fund said it had opted for Kas Bank following a review by Mercer Investment Consulting.

Kas Bank, which has E245bn under custody, is to provide custody and investment accounting services to Mowlem’s global equity portfolio.

The Mowlem pension fund used to be managed by Legal & General on a passive basis. “The trustees of the fund decided to appoint a new asset manager because they wanted more active management,” a Mowlem spokesman said.

The fund chose Alliance Bernstein as its new asset manager. Mowlem then opted for Kas Bank because the Dutch global custody and clearing service acts as Alliance’s custodian.

Kate Parker, who heads up the UK sales operations at Kas Bank, said: “We have been stepping up our efforts to spread our message in the UK market and this appointment shows that this increased activity is now paying off.

“We are delighted to have been selected for this mandate and look forward to working with Mowlem and Mercers.”