BlackRock has told pension funds that they will have to wait indefinitely if they want to pull their money out of its £3.5bn UK property fund.
Investors who asked for their money back at the end of September should have received it last week. However, BlackRock has written to them explaining that it is deferring those redemptions for the time being.
Investors who were expecting their money to be returned in September were told the same thing last year and they are also still waiting.
BlackRock has declined to comment, but is thought to be looking at a number of ways to rebalance its portfolio and free up cash for investors, including “expediting” sales of underlying property assets that were already in the pipeline.
Other funds including M&G, CBRE, Schroders and Columbia Threadneedle have all restricted withdrawals from UK property funds in recent months. However, Legal & General Investment Management said on Wednesday that it had lifted the block on redemptions on its £3.7bn Managed Property Fund.
