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Gartmore has announced the forthcoming launch of the Gartmore European Absolute Return fund.

The three-week offer period will start on 6 October, ahead of the launch on 31 October.

The fund, which is to be co-managed by Roger Guy and Guillaume Rambourg, will take the form of a Ucits III limited issue vehicle, with capacity set at £200m.

It is the first in a series of absolute return offerings planned by Gartmore and will seek to deliver positive absolute returns in the long-term in all market conditions by taking long and short positions in equities and derivatives.

The new fund will be managed using a similar strategy to Gartmore's European equity long/short hedge fund, the Gartmore AlphaGen Capella fund.

Commenting on the proposed launch, Richard Pursglove, head of UK retail for Gartmore, said: "In the last decade, we have transformed our business into a specialist provider of long-only and alternative products.

"This latest development is an important strategic addition to our retail fund range and has been driven by substantial client interest from discretionary asset managers, wealth managers and IFAs seeking uncorrelated positive returns.

"Gartmore's substantial experience in shorting, combined with its long established hedge fund infrastructure will be attractive to investors looking for absolute returns.”

Since entering the hedge fund arena in 1999, Gartmore has built a $11bn (£6.23bn) hedge fund business. As at the end of June, the company had over £24billion in assets under management.