Aberdeen Asset Management has confirmed that it has put up a number of properties on the market in an effort to rebuild the liquidity position of its £3.2 bn (€3.7 bn) UK Property Fund after a rush by retail investors to redeem their cash following Brexit.
'Following a period of higher than normal redemptions from the Fund after the EU referendum result and the suspension of other funds’ trading, the fund is now seeking to rebuild its liquidity position,' commented Gerry Ferguson, head of UK Property Pooled Funds. 'A limited number of properties are being marketed and we will seek the highest prices achievable for our investors as is our normal practice.'
According to a news report by PropertyWeek, the fund manager has 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.
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.
