Real estate big hitters were among the best performers in May, regaining more of the losses sustained over the past few months of uncertainty.
Best performers in price terms
| (%) | |
| Unite Group | 11.4 |
| Ground Rents Income Fund | 7.4 |
| Land Securities | 6.4 |
| Hammerson | 4.7 |
| British Land | 4.7 |
| Macau Property Opportunities | 4.7 |
| Target Healthcare REIT | 4.6 |
| NewRiver REIT | 4.1 |
| SEGRO | 4.0 |
| Workspace Group | 3.9 |
Source: Bloomberg, Marten & Co
FTSE 250 student digs specialist Unite Group’s (UTG) share price rose double digits in the month as it announced an extension of its share buyback programme. Its share price has come under strain this year (down 7.7% to the end of May) with concerns growing over weakening demand for student accommodation. The established FTSE 100 REITs Land Securities (LAND) and British Land (BLND) also saw their shares rebound in the month after both reporting encouraging annual results (see next section). SEGRO (SGRO), the largest UK-listed REIT at £9.7bn market cap, made the list of risers in May, with its share price back in positive territory for the year at 0.3% to the end of May. Retail giant Hammerson‘s (HMSO) impressive rally continued in May, with its smaller retail peer NewRiver REIT (NRR) also continuing to gain ground, up 13% in 2026 – the best performing in the real estate sector. US hedge fund Saba upped its campaign to force a wind-up of flexible office provider Workspace (WKP) increasing its holding in the company to around 20% and demanding the board be replaced.
Worst performers in price terms
| (%) | |
| Harworth Group | (8.1) |
| Big Yellow Group | (7.0) |
| Home REIT | (5.6) |
| Value & Indexed Property | (5.3) |
| First Property Group | (5.3) |
| Picton Property | (4.9) |
| Conygar Investment Company | (4.3) |
| Safestore Holdings | (4.0) |
| Globalworth Real Estate | (3.8) |
| Town Centre Securities | (2.2) |
Source: Bloomberg, Marten & Co
Developer Harworth Group’s(HWG) rocky 2026 continued falling another 8.1% in May, bringing its year-to-date share price loss to 26.7%. Both self-storage companies, Big Yellow (BYG) and Safestore (SAFE), were hit by concerns over a slowdown in demand due to economic weakness, with their share prices down 19.8% and 12.8% in 2026 respectively. Home REIT’s (HOME) shares crashed around 70% when they resumed trading at the end of April having been suspended for three years as it delayed publication of its results following a short-seller report. The shares fell another 5.6% in May as losses mounted up with heightened litigation costs. The anticipated offer for Picton Property (PCTN) from LondonMetric (LMP) and Schroder REIT (SREI) came in well below market expectations, resulting in an almost 5% fall in its share price.
Valuation moves
| Company | Sector | NAV move (%) | Period | Comments |
| Target Healthcare REIT | Healthcare | 1.0 | Quarter to 31 March 2026 | Like-for-like valuation uplift of 0.8% to £903.2m, driven by inflation-linked rent reviews |
| Grainger | Residential | (2.7) | Half-year to 31 March 2026 | Portfolio valuation reduced 1.1% due to modest yield expansion reflecting macro sentiment |
| Home REIT | Residential | (11.2) | Half-year to 28 February 2026 | Company in wind-down. Value of remaining properties continues to be written down |
| British Land | Diversified | 4.1 | Full year to 31 March 2026 | Portfolio value up 2.3% to £10.1bn, driven by ERV growth of 4.9% |
| Big Yellow Group | Self-storage | 1.0 | Full year to 31 March 2026 | Store portfolio valuation (including developments) up 0.2% to £3.1bn |
| Land Securities | Diversified | 0.9 | Full year to 31 March 2026 | Value of portfolio up 1.2% to £10.8bn |
| Helical | Offices | 0.9 | Full year to 31 March 2026 | Portfolio valuations increased by 0.5% on a like-for-like basis, driven by developments |
| LondonMetric Property | Logistics | 0.7 | Full year to 31 March 2026 | Portfolio saw a 0.8% valuation increase to £7.6bn, with yields largely unchanged |
Source: Marten & Co
Despite market volatility at the end of the quarter caused by the war in Iran, Target Healthcare REIT (THRL) reported an uplift in valuations thanks to the inflation-linked rental contracts on its care home portfolio. Build to rent landlord Grainger (GRI) suffered a dip in values as yields across the sector expanded on the uncertain backdrop. As mentioned earlier, both BLND and LAND posted encouraging results securing strong rental increases over the year and forecasting further growth moving forward.
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