Fund managers Tom Laidlaw and Mike Channing have won the management contract of the UK Balanced Property Trust from their former employer Scottish Widows Investment Partnership.
In a statement made today, the board of trustees of the £426m fund announced they had replaced SWIP as manager of the fund with Laidlaw and Channing’s new Edinburgh-based venture, Cordatus Partners.
The appointment is the result of a review into the management of the UK Balanced Trust since the resignation of Michael Cunningham in November. The fund has been without a lead fund manager since he departed from Scotland’s second-biggest fund management group.
Cunningham has joined Cordatus to continue day-to-day management of the fund from 1 May onwards.
Shares in the UK Balanced Property Trust are currently trading at 150.5p a share, reflecting a 6.5% discount to NAV. Its portfolio comprises 45% retail, just under a third in offices and a quarter in industrial. Its three largest shopping centres, are the Forum shopping centre in Sittingbourne, the Radius shopping centre in Watford and the Balmoral in Scarborough.