Tom Aylott, Portfolio Adviser, 29 May 2025:
Supermarket Income REIT has announced plans to move from a closed-ended investment fund to equity shares as a commercial company.
The decision comes after the trust internalised its management function earlier this year, which could save the company £4m a year in operating costs.
In a stockmarket announcement, the trust said becoming a commercial company would be “more suited to a UK REIT with an internalised management structure and business strategy”..
Richard Williams, senior analyst at QuotedData, said the trust’s move to an internalised management function could be an effort to avoid cost disclosure rules hampering demand for investment trusts.
“We wonder whether the board has taken this decision in light of the cost disclosure rules on trusts and REITs that requires it to disclose expenses as if they are charged twice – therefore making them less appealing to investors than their listed property company peers that do not adhere to these rules,” he said. “A fair resolution to the cost disclosure saga is urgently needed.”
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