Real Estate and Property Awards 2020

32 BUILD Real Estate & Property Awards 2020 Aug20215 ollowing the recent months of exceptional challenges in the business world, for Alpha Fund Management plc to be voted Best UK Real Estate Fund Manager 2020 by the panel of the 2020 Real Estate and Property Awards in a worthy recognition of those who have helped deliver such performance resilience and to be distinguished as a market leader over the past year is highly gratifying. Alpha Fund Management plc is the manager of Alpha Property Fund (APF), a regulated mutual fund that aims to achieve long term capital growth by investing in a portfolio of United Kingdom freehold and leasehold residential and commercial property. It aims to provide investors with an opportunity participate in a diversified and conservatively geared property portfolio within a well-managed investment vehicle. The fund’s investment committee has maintained its primary focus on properties that are located in densely populated parts of the UK that will most likely to maintain values in a challenging market and still deliver a heathy rental yield. The fund has no appetite for more esoteric investments such as student accommodation or homes of multiple occupancy where values are likely to be more unstable during periods of market correction. We are a long-term investor and our aim to is to provide quality family homes in areas where demand for accommodation is high. Our properties are well maintained and our tenants generally remain in the homes we provide for extended periods of time enabling us to optimise revenue from rental yields. COVID-19 has been a challenge for us all. we have had very few challenges with rent not being paid but, in those circumstances, where a tents income has dried up we have work out payment plans to reduce stress and to give people time to get back on their feet following what has been a challenging year. In all cases our tenants have responded positively to our approach and we now have very limited rental arrears cases in the portfolio, which are all covered by security deposits. Although the market has been tough from a domestic perspective, we have continued to see interest rates fall, which is not something that would have been predicted 18 months ago. As a result of this, the cost of buying a home has become cheaper than renting one. This factor coupled with the stamp duty waiver has driven house prices higher in 2020 and has consequently delivering a surprising increase to the value of our own portfolio. In addition to capital growth, APF’s fully tenanted portfolio of residential properties provide a healthy rental yield that delivers positive cash inflows to cover the fund’s operating costs. Best Real Estate Fund Manager 2020 – UK F The majority of APF’s assets are invested in residential property but as part of its diversified strategy, APF may also invest to a lesser degree in development opportunities, strategic land, property development and real estate related planning opportunities or property related companies from time to time. Whilst none of these additional opportunities are currently held in the fund, we anticipate the market shifting significantly in years to come and the investment management team continue to look for opportunities that will have the potential to deliver additional alpha for the fund’s investors with prudent diversification. The Manager periodically obtains a valuation of the fund’s property assets from a valuation agent that is required to be an independent firm that is authorised by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The fund is valued on a monthly basis using the most recent RICS valuation, which is adjusted by applying a blend of the Nationwide and Halifax House Price Indices with the aim of delivering a regular share price that accurately reflects the current market value of the property portfolio. Despite the recent challenges across the market August 2020 figures indicated that APF has outperformed the two indices demonstrating the dedication of the manager and the ability of the fund to deliver returns to investors even throughout challenging times. Company: Alpha Fund Management PLC Email: [email protected]