The UK Property Unit Trust of Legal & General Property, the property fund management arm of the Legal & General insurance and investments group, has reached over £1 billion.

The UK Property Unit Trust of Legal & General Property, the property fund management arm of the Legal & General insurance and investments group, has reached over £1 billion ($1.64 billion) thanks to increasingly strong returns.

With net inflows of over £250 million since the beginning of the year, the PUT, which was launched in 2006, has grown from £100 million to over £1 billion since inception. Averaging 35 per cent growth per year, the fund has outperformed the Lipper Property IMA Sector peers, with a 2.1 per cent outperformance rate per year, over the five years to October 2013.

“It is a significant milestone for us to achieve. With the market now catching increased interest from retail investors generally we expect the growth of the fund to continue,” commented Matt Jarvis, fund manager of the PUT.

The fund invests across a range of UK retail, office and industrial market opportunities, that provide the potential for long-term capital growth. It also invests in alternative sectors such as car showrooms and hotels, whilst retaining liquidity by utilising further investment capabilities such as REITs and derivative trades. So far, the PUT has secured 23 acquisitions, totalling £183 million in this year to date, and is in discussions on a number of other potential purchases.

LGP is the third largest institutional property fund manager in the UK, managing or co-managing 16 separate funds and two segregated mandates with an asset value of £11.6 billion as at 30 September 2013.