Legal & General eases Brexit discount on property-fund investors

Bloomberg

Legal & General Group Plc cut the discount investors must accept to withdraw cash from its 2.5 billion-pound ($3.3 billion) UK property fund after applications for redemptions slowed.
Investors spooked by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union now face a loss of 10 percent, compared with a 15 percent charge imposed after redemption requests surged in the aftermath of the referendum, the London-based firm said in a statement on its website. The new value has been applied since July 15.
L&G was one of a few firms to keep its commercial-property fund open after the Brexit vote last month. Seven firms overseeing about 18 billion pounds in assets, suspended trading of real estate funds after a flurry of redemptions.
“While it remains difficult to predict the exact impact of the vote to leave on commercial property values, conditions in the market and within our peer group have begun to stabilize,” L&G said. “The fund’s liquidity position is robust and the asset-management initiatives within the portfolio remain on track.”
Aberdeen Asset Management Plc has since reopened its 3.2 billion-pound U.K. property fund after a week-long suspension, as investors reversed requests to get their money back after the company cut the value of its fund by a further 17 percent, followed an initial 3.75 percent reduction.