Brexit prompts 4% Henderson property price switch
Henderson has lowered the price on its £4bn UK Property fund because of concerns about last week’s EU referendum vote and its effect on prices in the underlying market.
A Henderson spokesman said the asset manager had made a 4 per cent adjustment on the vehicle after independent valuers signalled that there was “less conviction surrounding current prices in the property market”.
“There is an expectation currently among participants and observers that valuations in the UK commercial property market will face downward pressure following the result,” the spokesman added.
“In the interests of treating investors fairly and until the independent valuation report can reflect evidence of market activity post the referendum result, Henderson has included a fair value adjustment in today’s fund prices.”
Henderson has also asked the fund’s independent valuers to temporarily move to providing calculations on the vehicle’s property portfolio on a weekly basis, as opposed to its usual monthly updates.
“Henderson would advise clients considering transacting in shares of the fund to bear in mind the current increased uncertainty around realisable prices in the UK commercial property market before deciding to proceed with a transaction,” the fund house added.
This year has already been a volatile one for property managers, with M&G, Henderson and Columbia Threadneedle among those switching pricing because of a poorer outlook for fund flows.
The IA Property sector suffered net retail outflows of £166m in the first quarter.
