The London-based investment house has rejigged management on its property income fund amid “interesting times” for the market following the Brexit vote.

Kames Capital has appointed Richard Peacock as an investment manager within its property investment team.

Peacock will become co-manager of the Kames Property Income Fund, joining existing co-manager and Kames’ property investment director, David Wise. Peacock will lead assistant fund managers Gregory Beeson, Karen Fox and Ric Tsang. He will replace Alex Walker, who is leaving to take a career break at the end of December after eight years with the firm. 

Peacock has worked with both Wise and Walker before. He joins from Aviva Investors, where he worked since 2005, latterly as a fund manager responsible for the Aviva Investors Pensions fund, a £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) open-ended property fund for UK pension schemes.

The Kames Property Income Fund had £384 million in assets at the end of August. At the end of September, it held over 25 per cent in liquid assets, namely cash and real estate investment trusts. Over the last year, the fund has delivered a cumulative performance of -3.9 per cent, versus sector average returns of 4.7 per cent, according to Trustnet.

Kames’ active value property investment strategies aim to deliver superior returns for investors by buying quality properties and enhancing yields through active management initiatives, such as refurbishments, lease extensions and new lettings. The strategies target properties in the £3 million to £20 million price range – these assets are often too big for most private buyers, but too small for many bigger fund managers, Kames noted.

“We are witnessing very interesting times in the property UK sector following the vote to quit the European Union in June. The decision has created both challenges and opportunities for the property market. Richard has worked in the property industry for almost 20 years and the wealth of experience he brings, combined with that of the highly experienced existing team, will ensure that we are well positioned to continue maximising these opportunities,” said Kames’ head of property investment, Phil Clark.

He added that Wise and Walker helped to navigate the “post-Brexit property shock”, which saw many of the firm's competitor funds close their doors to redemptions, while the Kames Property Income Fund remained open.