BlackRock’s UK Property Fund is selling its Premier Marinas business nine years after purchase.
Lazard has been appointed to sell the business, it is understood.
The £2.9bn (€3.7bn) balanced fund is selling the alternative asset following a review of its exposure to a range of asset classes and in light of the fund’s weighting constraints.
The marinas business accounts for around 7% of the fund’s net asset value.
As well as alternative property sectors, the open-ended fund - popular with UK pension funds - has invested in the retail and office sectors, as well as industrial and warehouse property.
BlackRock invested in the eight-asset marinas business in 2005 as a diversifier away from mainstream real estate.
In late 2012, the firm merged the UK Property Fund with RREEF’s UK retail, office and industrial property funds.
The fusion created a £2.4bn property unit trust. BlackRock’s UK fund grew in size as a result by £335m, absorbing 27 holdings in central London offices, as well as retail warehouses and offices in the South East of England.
