Aberdeen Asset Management's strategic review, which will see it float its property unit in a bid to bolster its balance sheet, will have no impact on its Irish operations.

According to Mr Ivan Murphy, the managing director of the Irish business, it won't be affected by the shake-up at its British parent. The company hopes to raise between £50 million (€78.44 million) and £70 million from a flotation of 50 to 70 per cent of Aberdeen Property Investors (API).

The move is seen as an attempt to boost its finances after the collapse of several of its specialist split capital funds.

A number of these funds have run into difficulties in Britain, leading to calls to compensate investors and an investigation by Britain's financial regulator of some fund managers.

Aberdeen chief executive Mr Martin Gilbert said the flotation would "put us in a much stronger position to meet any future obligations".

He added: "It will hopefully alleviate some of the concerns about Aberdeen's balance sheet."

Aberdeen's Irish business, which employs seven people, should be largely unaffected by its parent's woes, however.

It is made up of three elements - private-client asset management; institutional fund management for the ESB; and Irish-listed offshore funds, which are sold to overseas investors.

It is headed by Mr Murphy, who has moved to London for six months to work with Mr Gilbert in dealing with the issues facing the company.

Aberdeen also has an interest in another Irish venture, Real Estate Opportunities (REO), the publicly quoted split capital investment company that recently announced plans to reposition itself as a property group.

The move came in the wake of a collapse in the value of its bond portfolio, which was managed by Aberdeen Asset Management.

As a result, the Irish firm has appointed a firm of solicitors in Britain to review its arrangements with Aberdeen as manager of the portfolio.

Aberdeen, which owns 20 per cent of the company, continues to manage REO's British property portfolio while its Irish property business is managed by Treasury Holdings, which owns nearly 33 per cent of the company.

Mr Murphy, who was involved in setting up REO, said the working relationship between Treasury Holdings and Aberdeen was very strong and and the two would work together to reposition the company.

(Additional reporting by Reuters)