Saxo Bank puts plans for UK property fund on ice

Jesper Dambourg, managing director of investments at Saxo Properties, says he wanted to launch a UK-focused fund as the first in a range of closed-ended property portfolios for the group.

Saxo visited the UK between April and June 2009 and thought UK property prices looked cheap at this time. 

"But from then through to the summer, the price of property just rose dramatically and we think now is not the right time to launch," Dambourg says.

"We still like the London market because of the liquidity, and you can easily get a large volume of real estate. For our second fund, we might look at the UK market again."

Dambourg aims to launch two funds this year, followed by two or three in 2011, starting with a Copenhagen-focused portfolio. Property values here have halved recently, dropping to prices last seen in 2001. The fund will charge a 2% management fee, rising to 20% on performance exceeding 8%.

Saxo Properties aims to end up running funds worth at least DKK 250m, or about £30m.

Categories: Investment General

Tags: Iceland | Residential property | Commercial property

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