M&G Investments (M&G) has re-opened trading in the shares of its €4 bn retail fund, M&G Property Portfolio and its feeder fund, the M&G Feeder of Property Portfolio.
M&G was among several UK managers who locked up their open-ended real estate funds after investor redemptions rose markedly due to high levels of uncertainty in the UK commercial property market following the outcome of the European Union referendum on 23 June.
M&G suspended redemptions on 5 July.
'Suspending the fund wasn’t a decision we took lightly, but we felt it was the only way to protect the interests of investors in what were very unusual circumstances in the aftermath of the referendum,' William Nott, chief executive of M&G Securities, said. 'Suspension created an environment more akin to normal conditions, allowing us time to choose the most appropriate assets to sell at the right price in order to preserve the integrity and future of the fund. As such, the fund manager has kept higher quality assets while reducing the exposure to assets deemed riskier than their prime counterparts, putting the portfolio in a good position for any further volatility that may be experienced in the lead up to Brexit.'
M&G said that as confidence returns to the market, 58 fund properties have been sold, exchanged or placed under offer for a total of £718 mln (€806 mln). The M&G Property Portfolio is a broadly diversified fund, which after all sales, will own 119 UK commercial properties across retail, industrial and office sectors on behalf of UK retail investors.
Henderson Global Investors reopened its UK Property PAIF and Feeder Fund in mid-October, and Standard Life Investments is expected to re-open its frozen property fund in the four quarter of this year.
