by Val Cipriani, Investors Chronicle, July 4, 2025:
After three fairly abysmal years, real estate investment trusts are having a solid 2025 – the FTSE 350 Real Estate Investment Trusts index returned 11 per cent between the start of the year and 25 June.
But with interest rates only coming down at a snail’s pace, a flurry of corporate activity has done some of the heavy lifting for the sector.
Last week, Warehouse Reit’s (WHR) board recommended an offer from rival Tritax Big Box (BBOX), higher than the previously announced offer from Blackstone; in June, PRS Reit (PRSR) said it received a cash proposal from real estate investment management firm Long Harbour. And this is just the latest news..
Meanwhile, private equity buyers are by no means out of the picture. Richard Williams, property analyst at QuotedData, notes that discounts still look wide – for example, as of 25 June, the average was 15 per cent for the AIC UK commercial property sector, and 11 per cent for the residential sector.
“With share prices where they are, there remains ample opportunity for private equity to bag more portfolios on the cheap and reap the benefits of the valuation uplifts to come at the expense of shareholders,” he says.
“We are at a cyclically low point in the market with valuations just starting to recover from their nadir point,” says Williams.
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