MARKET REPORT: Blackstone swoops on British property group

Shares in Industrials Reit surged after the commercial real estate group agreed a £700m takeover proposal from Blackstone.

The property investment trust, which leases its premises to 1,530 clients including Thames Water, Screwfix and Sky, said it would advise shareholders to support the US private equity giant’s cash offer of 168p per share.

That represented a 42.4 percent premium over Friday’s closing price.

Shares rose 38.1 percent, or 45 pence, to 163 pence, bringing the year-to-date gain to 24 percent.

Blackstone’s proposal to delist Industrials Reit from the London Stock Exchange marks a vote of confidence in the UK property sector, which has been battered by higher interest rates.

But it’s another setback for the city as foreign predators surround British firms listed on the LSE.

This is Blackstone’s latest attack on European urban warehouses in recent years. It acquired Hansteen Holdings in 2019 and two years later acquired St Modwen Properties for £1.3 billion. Industrials Reit has a primary listing in London and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Hammerson sold its 25 per cent stake in Italie Deux, a shopping center in central Paris, along with its entire stake in the Italik extension to Ingka Centres, a group affiliated with Ikea, for £144 million. The owner of the Birmingham Bullring said the money should help strengthen its balance sheet and reduce debt.

It has so far raised around £360 million of its £500 million divestiture target by the end of this year. Shares fell 2.7 percent, or 0.7 pence, to 25.38 pence.

London’s top index reached its highest level in more than three weeks yesterday, as plans to cut oil production sent crude oil prices soar. The FTSE 100 gained 0.5 percent, or 41.26 points, to 7673 after the surprise move over the weekend by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies to increase supply by more than 1 million barrels a day. Reduce.

That sent oil up, with Brent oil rising as much as 8 percent to a high of $86.44 a barrel after trading at $70 at one point last month.

The increase saw BP jump 4.3 percent, or 21.9p, to 532.7p and Shell jumped 4.2 percent, or 96.5p, to 2405p.

Financial stocks rose in hopes that the worst of the banking crisis is over. Barclays rose 1.7 percent, or 2.46p, to 148.26p, Lloyds gained 1.2 percent, or 0.56p, to 48.24p, HSBC added 1.2 percent, or 6.77p, to 556 .4p and Standard Chartered rose 1.4 percent, or 8.8p, to 623p.

AstraZeneca injected a dose of good news after one of the pharmaceutical giant’s drugs was recommended for approval in the EU.

Ultomiris can be used to treat adults suffering from an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system. Shares were up 0.3 percent, or 38p, to 11270p.

Intertek has bought a Brazilian environmental testing company that specializes in ensuring water is clean and safe to drink.

The quality assurance and product testing company said Control Analitico represents an “attractive and additional opportunity” to expand its presence in Brazil. But shares lost 0.4 percent, or 18p, to 4035p.

Hiscox moved in the same direction after Barclays lowered the insurer’s price target from 1140 pence to 1102 pence. Shares fell 0.8 percent, or 9p, to 1100p.

It was another tough day for cybersecurity specialist NCC. Shares fell 7.9 percent, or 8.1 pence, to 94.1 pence after HSBC downgraded the stock’s rating from “buy” to “hold” and cut its price target from 245p to 117p. Jefferies lowered the target price from 245 pence to 131 pence. NCC said on Friday that profit for the year to May 31 should be between £28m and £32m, lower than an earlier forecast of around £47m.

The FTSE 250 fell 0.3 percent, or 48.89 points, to 18879.41.