New Star have announced that they are temporarily suspending dealing in their International Property fund with effect from 25th November. Investors will not be able to either redeem existing units or buy new units from this date. The fund will continue to pay out dividends.
The move follows a series of large redemptions in the fund, which New Star say have used up the liquid assets in the fund’s portfolio. The manager plans to sell some of the fund’s properties to finance any future redemptions, but given the illiquid nature of physical property does not expect to be able to do this until the new year.