UK Commercial Property Trust misses benchmark in first half

20th Aug 2015 07:39

(ShareCast News) - UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCPT) posted a 5.2% return on net asset value in the first half of the year.This was lower than its MSCI Balanced monthly & quarterly funds benchmark of 6.2%, but higher than the FTSE all-share index of 3%.The property trust's net asset value per share was up to 85.4p from 83p, which was driven by 2.4% capital growth in the trust's £1.24bn portfolio.UKCPT chairman Christopher Hill said shareholders returns were positive, but at a steadier pace than the year before. Several properties which UKCPT said had limited future return prospects were sold."Following the significant portfolio repositioning out of such properties, the current focus is to re-invest in assets that offer the potential, through the deployment of expert asset management, for a growing and sustainable income stream and capital appreciation. "Hill said while the key risk to a positive outlook was interest rate rises, there was a "reasonably wide buffer" between the yields on UK commercial property compare with other asset classes."Our Investment Manager's latest forecast of 6.9% annualised total return for the UK commercial property sector over the next three years reflects a positive outlook, but one in which asset management and rental income plays a greater part than simple yield improvement to drive prices," Hill said.At 0800 BST shares in UKCPT were down by 0.8% to 87.30p.