On The Block: The Biggest Assets In M&G’s Liquidating £565M Fund

M&G followed in the wake of Nuveen last month, saying it was shutting down its open-ended property fund for individual investors. 

Like so many such funds, M&G had seen consistent outflows of cash as investors asked for their money back. It had £565M of assets across 25 properties and cash at the point of closure, well down from the £2.1B in assets it held in 2019. 

M&G said the fund’s properties would be sold in an orderly manner across the next 18 months. Here are the fund's five biggest assets, which, even if a formal sales process has not yet commenced, are now effectively up for sale. 

Parc Trostre Retail Park

The largest asset in the fund is the 450K SF Parc Trostre Retail Park in Llanelli, South Wales. One of Wales’ largest retail parks, it was valued at £58M as of March, according to the fund’s most recent interim report. There are 38 units in the park, with tenants like Tesco Extra, Marks & Spencer and H&M. 

Portland & Riding Estate

The fund owns £140M in office properties, the largest of which is the Portland & Riding Estate on the corner of Great Portland Street and Riding House Street in the West End of London. In its interim report, M&G put the value between £30M and £50M, and the fund bought the building for £50M in 2018 from GPE, a 3.9% yield. 

The property includes offices totalling 18K SF, let in their entirety to a not-for-profit organisation until May 2027 at a rent of £1.2M a year; seven retail units totalling 11K SF, let at combined rents of £500K a year; and six vacant residential apartments and two flats, let on assured shorthold tenancies.

3 Temple Quay

The second-largest office in the portfolio is 3 Temple Quay in Bristol, which accounts for just over 5% of the portfolio, putting the value at around £30M. The building was refurbished in 2016, and tenants include insurance broker Brunel Professional.

Fremlin Walk

The fund owns £115M of retail properties overall, including high street units and the 350K SF Fremlin Walk shopping centre in Maidstone, Kent. The value of the centre, where tenants include Fatface and Zara, is likely to be between £25M and £30M. 

Selly Oak Student Quarter

The fund has more than £100M of assets in alternative sectors like leisure and student accommodation. In the latter sector, it owns the 329-bed Selly Oak Student Quarter in Birmingham, which was valued at £30M in March.