BlackRock, M&G halt property fund withdrawals

BlackRock and M&G are suspending redemptions from UK property funds managing around £8 billion of assets as some investors seek to exit the UK real estate market.

BlackRock will defer third-quarter redemptions from its £3.5 billion BlackRock UK Property Fund, Reuters reported.

BlackRock also previously deferred second-quarter redemptions, which were due to be paid out at the end of September.

A spokesperson for M&G said that it was still deferring redemptions on its Secured Property Income Fund, following an increase in redemption requests.

The spokesperson said the deferral would allow the fund to rebuild liquidity by selling property investments in an orderly way.

The fund was worth £4.6 billion as of September.

Reuters reported that other asset managers including Columbia Threadneedle, Schroders and CBRE Investment Management have imposed restrictions on property fund redemptions since September, after money market turmoil and interest rate rises forced investors to reduce exposure to the asset class.