Legal & General property trust tops £100m - commercial mortgage

16 March 2007

Legal & General''s recently launched UK property trust has exceeded the £100 million barrier in invested funds.

Launched on February 28th, the fund has shown a strong performance, designed to deliver capital growth and income returns through investment in a diversified UK commercial property portfolio.

The new fund has proven popular among Legal & General''s existing base of investment customers, attracting investors who want to focus on commercial property in their strategy. Claire Stracey of Legal & General explains the motivation behind including commercial property as a separate asset class.

"The success of this fund ... underpins our decision to include commercial property as an asset class available for retail investors," she stated.

Particular focus has been placed upon commercial properties in retail parks and central London, which historically see high levels of activity in commercial mortgages as well as heavy tenant demand.

Legal & General currently has more than £12 billion invested in the commercial property sector, emphasising its commitment to investors focusing on that area. The group saw an increase in operating profits of 13 per cent during 2006.