The Charities Property Fund has acquired five properties in the UK for a total of nearly £60 mln (EUR 69 mln), bringing its total net asset value to £456 mln.

The fund - which is managed by Cordea Savills - has bought a Tesco supermarket in Nailsea; a retail warehouse park in the Midlands; the funding of a brand new Travelodge Hotel in Cambridge; and two modern industrial units in Wellingborough and Telford. The deals reflect an average yield of 6.9% and an average lease length of almost 20 years.

The fund has also re-opened for investment following a temporary restriction in Q1 and Q2 aimed at protecting returns of existing investors. It returned 2.8% in the third quarter of 2011.

'The Charities Property Fund's popularity is primarily due to its strong performance, which has been particularly good over the last three years despite the fund doubling in size and the associated transaction costs and valuation drag on new purchases,' said fund director Harry de Ferry Foster.

So far in 2011, the vehicle has acquired 16 assets and sold three in transactions totalling over £140 mln. The fund now has 1,239 charities as investors and no borrowing.