OREANDA-NEWS. 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%.

SLI's share price premium to NAV is one of the highest among peers and sits slightly above its 9.7% three-year average. There is no active discount control mechanism but a substantial number of shares have been issued since mid-2014, taking advantage of the premium to grow the company without diluting existing shareholders. SLI's 5.4% dividend yield is one of the highest in the peer group of closed-ended funds directly investing in UK property with a market cap of over ?100m and a track record of more than one year.