Standard Life Investments Property Income Trust (SLI) is an actively managed closed-ended company investing directly in UK commercial property. The trust has grown substantially since mid-2014 using share issues to fund asset purchases and the proposed acquisition of a c £165m portfolio provides the opportunity to make a step change in scale without materially altering the portfolio profile. Maintaining gearing at c 30% LTV, SLI has outperformed the IPD UK Monthly index over five years. The shares trade at a c 10% premium to NAV and yield an above average 5.4%.
