Aberdeen lifts suspension on €3.7b UK property fund

In a statement, Aberdeen said that investors will now be able to submit trades but at a diluted price that 'reflects the current market environment and the fact that short-term sales in the property market have relatively penal consequences'.

'Investors should be aware that the price may be adjusted on a daily basis to reflect the funds’ requirement to provide liquidity and the need to protect all investors,' said Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Aberdeen Asset Management. 'The market may take time to find its level but I have no doubt that property will continue to play an important part in investors’ portfolios.'

Earlier this week the fund manager confirmed that it had put up a number of properties on the market in an effort to rebuild the fund's liquidity position.

'A limited number of properties are being marketed and we will seek the highest prices achievable for our investors as is our normal practice,' Gerry Ferguson, head of UK Property Pooled Funds, said at the time.

Aberdeen AM has reportedly appointed agents to market two of the fund's largest assets. It has hired Strutt & Parker to sell 10 Hammersmith Grove for £105 mln while CBRE was hired to market 355 Oxford Street for £145 mln, according to a news report by PropertyWeek.

Last week Aberdeen Asset Management cut the value of its UK fund by 17%, effectively imposing a levy on investors who decide to cash in their fund units. It also extended the temporary suspension to 'provide additional time for investors to consider their options in these exceptional circumstances'.

Several major property fund managers, accounting for more than half of the £25 bn open-ended commercial real estate sector for private investors in the UK, have halted trading in the face of a spike in redemption requests from unit holders.