Wealth management firm St James鈥檚 Place (SJP) has suspended dealing in its 拢820m property fund.
The FTSE 100 company, which is headquartered in Gloucestershire with offices around the 海角视频, said on Monday (October 23) it had prevented withdrawals from its property unit trust since Friday last week.
Bosses at the firm said the suspension is a "proactive measure" intended to to protect the interest of clients. It comes after a number of investors moved to withdraw their cash from the fund. SJP also cited a fall in demand in the commercial property sector and office space remaining vacant post-Covid as employees continue to work from home.
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Tom Beal, director of investments at St. James鈥檚 Place, said: 鈥淲e have taken this step to protect the interests of clients. A combination of factors has led to our decision to suspend dealings in the Property unit trust and defer payments in the pension and life funds. This action is also aimed at preventing the challenge of having to sell properties quickly to generate cash. Selling properties under such pressure may lead to the fund manager selling them for less than their actual market value, potentially resulting in financial losses for the fund and its investors.
鈥淒uring this period of suspension, we will be assessing market conditions and closely monitoring valuations of properties within the fund. We are committed to resuming dealing as soon as we are satisfied that conditions are right.鈥
Shares in St James鈥檚 Place rose 1.56% on Monday. They have dropped by more than a fifth in the past month as it announced a change to its fee structure.
St James's Place recently revised its charging structures following pressure from the financial regulator. Bosses said charges across all its 鈥榳rapper asset funds鈥, which have historically been disclosed primarily on an all-inclusive basis, would now be separated into component parts, which they said would comprise initial and ongoing advice, investment management, and product administration which will be tiered for larger investments.
The board said the changes were designed to reduce overall ongoing charges for existing investments across core products and would come into effect in the second half of 2025.
In its last full financial year, the company said it had seen its second best year for new business flows in its history, with underlying cash reaching an all-time high of 拢410.1m.
