This is the second time the firm has deferred redemption payments for the institutional vehicle, which as of December 2021 held £1.5bn assets under management. In October, CBRE announced it would defer the redemption payments accepted in Q2 2022 for one quarter.
A spokesperson confirmed on Thursday (5 January) that in the coming weeks the fund will be paying out, in full, all redemptions accepted during Q2 2022. However, some of the Q3 redemptions accepted will be partially deferred by one quarter.
BlackRock defers Q3 redemptions from £3.5bn UK property fund
Investors who redeemed in Q3 2022 will receive around half of their redemption payments in January, with the remainder to follow "as soon as practically possible".
"We continue to ensure we are acting in the best interests of all investors, whilst preserving liquidity, in what is a very challenging environment," the spokesperson said.
BlackRock has also deferred Q3 redemptions from its £3.5bn BlackRock UK Property fund, while redemption deferrals remain in place for M&G's £4.6bn M&G Secured Property Income fund and Columbia Threadneedle's £2bn institutional TPEN Property fund.
In October, the Financial Times reported that Schroders paid £7.8m towards meeting Q2 2022 redemption requests for the £2bn Schroders Capital UK Real Estate fund, with the outstanding balance deferred until on or before July 3, 2023.
M&G maintains redemption delays on £4.6bn Secured Property fund
On Thursday, Schroders told Investment Week that it had been able to meet the outstanding redemptions from the October 2022 dealing date following the sale of Jubilee House in Stratford, East London.
According to the Investment Association, net retail sales of UK property funds were £423m for 12 months to the end of October.
L&G Investment Management did not respond to requests for comment.
Retail property funds
In October, redemption deferrals for institutional property funds appeared not to be spreading to the retail sector. As of Thursday, most retail open-ended UK property funds remain open, with the exception of the Columbia Threadneedle UK PAIF, which remains suspended.
"The decision to suspend dealing has been made with the aim of preventing any investors being disadvantaged by those redeeming from the funds. Columbia Threadneedle's other retail property funds remain open and are unaffected," a spokesperson said.
Retail open-ended property funds avoid liquidity restraints
Royal London Asset Management confirmed its £162m Royal London Property fund remains open, while Canada Life Asset Management reported no changes to dealing or redemption periods on its £305m LF Canlife Property fund.
A spokesperson for abrdn confirmed that its £1.2bn Real Estate UK fund is operating normally with sufficient liquidity and no deferral of redemptions, while St James's Place has placed no withdrawal restrictions on its three property funds, which have cash weightings of between 14% and 24%.