LONDON - The British founder and chief executive of ING Real Estate Investment Management's multi-manager business has resigned due to the company's plans to relocate the unit's global team to the Netherlands.

London-based Nick Cooper will leave ING Real Estate Select at end-December, but will remain an adviser to ING Global Real Estate Securities, the Dutch property firm said.

The recent Head Office decision to re-locate the global Select business to the Netherlands does not fit into my life or career plans at this time and I have therefore declined ING Real Estate's offer to remain part of the business, Cooper said.

A succession plan for Select, which had 3.4 billion pounds ($5.64 billion) of assets under management at end-September, will be announced shortly, ING Real Estate said.

The Dutch bancassurer ING Group (ING.AS), parent of ING Real Estate, is in the process of a restructuring ordered by the European Commission which includes selling its worldwide insurance operations over the next four years. [ID:nLQ54845] (Reporting by Daryl Loo; Editing by Andrew Macdonald) ($1=.6030 Pound) (See www.reutersrealestate.com for the global service for real estate professionals from Reuters) ((daryl.loo@thomsonreuters.com; +44 (0)207 542 5228; Reuters Messaging: daryl.loo.reuters.com@reuters.net))