Over the course of July 2025, the NAV of the Fund decreased by 4.6% (A Acc GBP). Similarly, the UK Real Estate Index* decreased by 4.6%. Since its launch, the Fund has increased by 1.9% (A Acc GBP), outperforming the UK Real Estate Index* which has fallen by 20.0% in the same period.

The strategy of the Fund is to invest in a diversified portfolio of thematic real assets. The Fund’s 20 investments are set to benefit from four socio-economic mega trends: ageing population (15.1% portfolio weight), digitalisation (28.5% portfolio weight), generation rent (24.1% portfolio weight), and urbanisation (7.3% portfolio weight). It will also invest in Multi-theme REITs that encompass one or more of these trends (20.8% portfolio weight).

Within each mega trend, the fund manager undertakes fundamental research to identify the most attractive investment opportunities. Combining top-down analysis of socio-economic mega trends with bottom-up fundamental research has yielded good results for the Fund.

July was a poor month for the UK-listed real estate sector, with negative returns across all mega trends. Multi-theme assets held up the best, delivering -1.8%**. Digitalisation and ageing population were next, falling by -3.0%** and -3.4%** respectively.

Urbanisation and generation rent delivered the worst returns of the month, falling by -3.8%** and -6.0%** respectively.

Sentiment toward the UK-listed real estate sector was impacted by the UK government's surprise proposal to ban upward only rent reviews (UORR) for new commercial leases in England and Wales. This could mean that landlords will have to decide between agreeing on fixed rents or introducing a clause that allows rents to rise as well as fall. The announcement came as a surprise to the sector, with Jeffries believing it will reduce “rental predictability, weaken loan security and potentially lower REIT NAVs”.

M&A activity continued into July, with Blackstone pulling ahead of Tritax Big Box in the battle for Warehouse REIT (portfolio weight 6.0%). Blackstone announced an increased cash offer of 113.4 pence per share for Warehouse REIT, which at the time of the announcement represented a 3.5% premium over Tritax’s cash and shares offer. As a result, Warehouse REIT’s independent directors switched their recommendation from the Tritax offer to the increased Blackstone offer. However, neither offer is final, and the Blackstone offer is now subject to acceptance from shareholders representing more than 50% of shares.

Despite the poor performance of the sector, several of the Fund’s holdings provided strong trading updates. First, LondonMetric (portfolio weight 6.1%), a REIT that owns and manages real estate in the logistics and long income sector, increased their portfolio value by £1.1 billion to £7.3 billion, due to their acquisitions of Highcroft and Urban Logistics. They have also completed 59 rent reviews this year, adding £2.4 million of annualised rental income and achieving a 16% uplift on prior rents. Second, Big Yellow (portfolio weight 4.3%), a UK-based self-storage provider, announced an increase in total revenue of 2.6% year-on-year. They continue to emphasise cost controls, with increased automation allowing Big Yellow to avoid replacing staff that have left the business, and prior investments in energy efficiency reducing utility costs. As such, like-for-like operating costs were unchanged and are expected to grow by only 2-3% in 2026. Third, Picton (portfolio weight 5.2%), a REIT that invests in UK-based commercial property announced an increase in EPRA NTA of 1.0% to 100.9p, as well as an increase in portfolio value of £2.8 million to £726.0 million.

On the other hand, Life Science REIT (portfolio weight 1.5%), an investor in UK life science properties, was one of the worst performers of the month, following a NAV decline of almost 11% since December 2024. There was however some positive news on the operations front, with Life Science REIT signing four new occupiers, and increasing their contracted rent by 9.4%.

Despite the decline in sector performance in July, the fund manager remains optimistic about the Fund’s performance due to the continued M&A activity, along with the strong underlying performance of portfolio assets. This further reiterates the positive growth potential of the UK REIT sector. Investors should look to the attractive, growing dividend yield and the potential for further upside. While growth concerns continue to impact capital markets, the four socio-economic mega trends - ageing population, digitalisation, generation rent and urbanisation - are set to gain. There is reason for increased optimism across these mega trends as the Fund continues to invest in defensive, domestic and dependable assets.

*MSCI UK IMI Core Real Estate Net Total Return GBP.
**Defined as the calendar month, as opposed to the valuation month.