Aberdeen Fund is looking to sell £150m Oxford Street property to meet post-Brexit redemption requests
Aberdeen Asset Management, which froze its property fund last week thanks to investors making hefty withdrawals, is looking to sell a £150m Oxford Street property, Morning Wire understands.
Aberdeen has appointed CBRE as brokers for the exchange of 355 Oxford Street, according to sources close to the deal.
Read more: Asset managers close the gate on £15bn-£20bn funds
The asset managers have also been trying to sell a £100m office block at 10 Hammersmith Grove, with Strutt & Parker LLP acting for the firm.
Strutt & Parker approached six parties to gauge interest in the property, looking to strike a deal by this Friday – and three have put in a bid.
Gerry Ferguson, head of UK property pooled funds at Aberdeen, said: "Following a period of higher than normal redemptions from the fund after the EU referendum result and the suspension of other funds' trading, the fund is now seeking to rebuild its liquidity position.
Read more: Columbia Threadneedle's property funds become the latest to suspend trading
"A limited number of properties are being marketed and we will seek the highest prices achievable for our investors as is normal practice."
The move comes after a week in which six commercial property funds – with a value estimated at £15-20bn – suspended withdrawals because investors were depleting the funds' cash reserves.
Aberdeen, valued at around £3.2bn, installed a 17 per cent dilution levy last Wednesday and froze withdrawals temporarily to deter investors from making more redemption requests.
CBRE declined to comment.