Ex-Swip property boss Naish resurfaces at care home trust

Malcolm Naish, the former director of real estate at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (Swip), has been recruited to the board of a new closed-end property fund.

Wealth Manager understands that Naish, who retired from Swip last year, will become a non-executive director of the Target Healthcare Reit, an investment trust specialising in the care homes market.

Managers Target Advisers - who currently run the Kames Target Healthcare Property Unit Trust - are expected to bring the fund to market on 7 March.

They are understood to have secured £45 million in cornerstone investments, promised by wealth managers and institutional buyers.

While income has remained in demand among investors, within the closed-end specialist property sector it is difficult to find funds offering fully covered dividends. Target, however, is expected to break this trend and will offer a 6% fully covered dividend.

It will also offer exposure to an asset class where leases span two to three decades and rental increases are linked to the retail price index (RPI).

Neither Target or Winterflood Securities, the trust's broker, commented on the launch, though sources familiar with it expect the vehicle to be fully invested with a few months of its float.

The portfolio will comprise of care homes based in the UK, though the trust will not have a regional bias.