If anyone in the property industry is celebrating the recent plunge in market sentiment, it's Robert Ware. The chief executive of vulture fund, Conygar, has been consistently bearish, preferring to sell rather than buy, and to hoard cash in anticipation of more "realistic" pricing.
That may now be at hand. There were no juicy deals announced with its final results, but Mr Ware says pricing has suddenly become more sensible in the last four to five weeks. His team is now conducting due diligence on three portfolios, and has prepared to pounce by drawing down £33m of new debt.
Last year, Conygar's portfolio shrank due to asset sales and the capital released was ploughed into share buy-backs. With valuations otherwise flat, adjusted net asset value (NAV)crept up 2.5 per cent to 154p.
