Kames Capital has hailed the appointment of three new faces to its property fund management team as a 'milestone' for the group.

Mark Bunney, Matt Day and Tony Yu have joined Kames from rival ING Real Estate Investment Management.

At ING, they were part of the specialist property multi-manager team, responsible for more than £2 billion worth of assets, including the Osiris Property Fund.

Edinburgh-based Kames, which was called AEGON Asset Management prior to a rebrand last month, said the acquisitions were consistent with the company's business strategy of 'building scale in selected specialisms, namely property fund management, fixed income, UK equity and multi-asset investing'.

The trio join Kames' existing property fund management team, headed by Phil Clark, and will assist their new colleagues in developing a comprehensive range of property investments, said the group.

Andrew Fleming, CEO of Kames, said, 'These appointments mark a major milestone in the evolution of Kames Capital. Mark and his team are recognised as leaders in the field of property investment fund of funds and their appointment is consistent with our strategy of building scale in our chosen investment specialisms which includes property.’

Clark echoed this sentiment, adding, ‘Capturing such a well respected team, who are among the leaders in the property fund of funds market is an outstanding addition to our business and I am looking forward to working with Mark and the team as we look to enhance our indirect property proposition.’

The Kames property management team currently run the Active Value Property Fund and the Target Healthcare Fund. The Active Value Fund has performed encouragingly against its sector, returning 4.46 per cent for the year to date, against a sector average of 3.2 per cent.