M&G: FTSE 100 giant hits out at Rayner’s ground rent cap as it suffers loss
Asset manager M&G has swung to a loss driven by the Labour government’s introduction of a cap on existing ground rents.
The FTSE 100 group hit out at the government after it reported a £165m loss for the first six months of the year, driven by a £325m write-down eating into its bottom-line. In its core operating profit, a measure which excludes the write-down, the group posted a 15 per cent increase to £435m.
Housing secretary Angela Rayner has been one of the key advocates for the £250 annual cap on pre-existing ground rents, which refers to annual fees paid by current leaseholders to a freeholder for the land beneath an older property.
The move was part of a bill that added reforms to the Conservative government’s ground rent legislation.
M&G’s shareholder fund holds approximately £722m in UK ground rent assets, which generate long-term income streams to pay future customer pensions. The group was forced to recognise the write-down after the cap limited the cash flows the freeholds could collect, slashing the value of the assets.
The firm’s top boss Andrea Rossi has previously said the firm was “disappointed that we have not been able to agree on a proportionate solution that works for all parties.”
Labour’s solution is ‘disproportionate’
Labour is targeting eventually phasing the cap down to £0. M&G said it had lobbied the government for a softer alternative, advocating for a cap tied to initial lease amounts with inflation-adjusted escalations as opposed to a blanket £250 cap that winds down.
“While M&G fully supports the Government’s objective… the proposed solution is disproportionate,” the asset manager said at the beginning of the year.
It added: “These changes, if implemented, would negatively impact savers and companies that have chosen to invest in UK assets; they would also set a worrying precedent, leading to consequences for the UK’s reputation as a stable investment location.”
Elsewhere, M&G posted a jump in total assets under management to £387.4bn, up from £375.9m at the end of the year.
Net inflows reached £2.4bn, a hefty increase from just £300m the prior year. Meanwhile asset management inflows topped £2.2bn, with £1.3bn across private markets and £900m in public.
“The strong financial position of M&G and our thoughtful planning mean that we are well positioned to absorb and manage the negative impacts generated by [the ground rent] legislation,” Rossi said.