Janus Henderson has suspended its Janus Henderson UK Property PAIF and associated feeder fund.

The suspension started from noon last Thursday.

The funds were suspended following discussions to sell the entire physical property portfolio held by the Janus Henderson UK Property PAIF.

The fund manager said suspending dealing in the funds would give the sale of the entire property portfolio to a single buyer the best chance to succeed.

It said the decision can be attributed to “ongoing uncertainty in the UK over the future of open-ended funds invested in direct (physical) property within a daily-dealing structure”.

The fund manager said this uncertainty has contributed to persistent net redemptions from the fund.

Assets under management have now reduced “to the point of challenging the portfolio’s future shape and quality”, along with expected returns.

Simon Hillenbrand, head of UK retail at Janus Henderson, said: “Having researched a number of options, we believe the best solution is to promptly execute the sale of all of the Janus Henderson UK Property PAIF’s property assets to a single buyer. The net proceeds will then be distributed to investors according to their holdings in the PAIF and its Feeder Fund.”

Janus Henderson expects to return funds to investors by the end of April, but cannot yet provide a firm completion date.

Ryan Hughes, head of investment research at AJ Bell, said: “The whole property sector has been under a cloud for some time given the FCAs review into the space and we still await the outcome of that process. Quite clearly, it can’t come soon enough for investors who remain in limbo and once again see their assets stuck in a fund that they can’t sell.”