Since the last formal dealing suspension review in November, the team have continued to make progress on property sales, with two sales completing in November (an office in Leatherhead and an industrial building in Warwick). A pipeline of properties under offer to sell is in place and exchange and completion dates are being negotiated with prospective buyers. As we said in our last update, the property transaction market remains challenging and there are still chances of delays or withdrawals from transactions, especially as we head into the festive holiday season and have the Brexit transition deadline looming. Property sales are spread across a number of property sectors/tenant profiles to maintain the characteristics of the Fund, thereby balancing the interests of investors who wish to remain invested in the Fund (or its Feeder) and those who want to redeem.
The Board of Henderson Investment Funds Limited, which is the authorised corporate director (ACD) for the Fund, has again formally reviewed the dealing suspension. The Board has agreed with the Fund’s depositary that the Janus Henderson UK Property PAIF (and its Feeder Fund) should remain suspended due to the need to allow the property sales under offer to progress to completion. This will enable known redemptions to be met and the Fund has sufficient liquidity to substantially reduce the risk of re-suspension in the short term. Despite the challenging property market conditions, the looming Brexit transition deadline and the uncertainty caused by the FCA’s consultation on introducing redemption notice periods for open-ended funds invested in direct property, we envisage the PAIF and its Feeder Fund will be able to reopen during the first quarter of 2021.
The dealing suspension, therefore, remains in place until further notice. The situation and progress on property sales will continue to be monitored closely by the ACD to ensure the funds are well placed to meet redemption requests on reopening and that the characteristics of the Fund are maintained. A further update will be provided within the next 28 days, or sooner should the situation change.