15:17

Savers locked out

Two of the biggest property funds in the UK are to close their doors to investors wanting to sell out, as the coronavirus claimed its first fund suspensions.

The £2bn Janus Henderson and £585m Kames funds will be gated after property valuers CBRE told the fund managers they could no longer accurately value properties within the funds.

The move means it could be months before savers can cash in their investments. Another property fund, M&G’s Property Portfolio, has been in lockdown since December.

In a statement to investors, Kames, which is part of the Aegon group and manages £37bn globally, said: “In the current turbulent market conditions the fund’s Standing Independent Valuer, CBRE, has advised that they are unable to accurately value the properties within our funds. Under these exceptional circumstances we believe it is in the best interests of our investors to suspend activity within our funds.”

Ryan Hughes of financial brokerage A J Bell said: “With M&G Property Portfolio having been suspended since December last year, it raises serious questions about whether we’ll see a chain-reaction effect and see other property funds suspending.”