Shares in Phoenix Spree Deutschland (PSDL ) have perked up after the board of the Berlin residential property fund said it knew of no trading reason for the 25% slide in its stock since 28 February.

In a statement on Wednesday, the company said it believed the selling of its shares had been triggered by its imminent removal from the FTSE EPRA index.

Following a 39% slump in its shares in the past year – including a 15% decline this year – PSDL will drop out of the European real estate benchmark on Monday.

Like other listed property funds, its shares have fallen in response to rising government bond yields and fears of a recession in Germany. The company’s decision to suspend its final dividend a year ago in light of slowing condominium sales and rising finance costs also knocked investor confidence.

The board said in a statement: ‘The board can confirm it is not aware of any adverse material change relating to the company’s trading, which remains consistent with the business update issued on 7 February,’ which was when PSDL’s fund manager QSix reported a strong rental market in Germany’s capital and an acceleration in sales of condominiums.

‘The board considers the current share price, which values the company at a 67% discount to the most recently published EPRA NTA [net tangible assets or net asset value], and implies a value per square metre of approximately half the cost of construction, does not reflect the value of the underlying assets within the portfolio.’

Following the announcement, the shares have rallied 15% from an all-time low of 125.5p to 144p, but that still leaves them on a 60% discount to the estimated net asset value of 361.7p per share, according to Deutsche Numis.

That reduces the company’s market value to £134m against a net asset value of £332m.

Its top shareholders include fund managers Columbia Threadneedle, Hawksmoor and CG Asset Management.