MORNING NEWS: Japan’s NTT to invest in Brent Cross BTR scheme

Good morning. Here’s your daily round-up of the latest news and views from EG and a collection of real estate-relevant headlines from the national papers. Related Argent has formed a joint venture with a subsidiary of Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation to develop a third build-to-rent scheme at Brent Cross Town. NTT UD Europe’s commitment will pave the way for a further 226 rental homes across three blocks within the 180-acre, £8bn park town. Office occupiers and investors have homed in on nine markets across the South East, according to data from Knight Frank shared with EG, accounting for almost two-thirds of transactions over the past three years. Knight Frank said 64% of leasing deals and 57% of investment volumes in the post-Covid era have been in what it called the “momentum markets” of Brighton, Cambridge, Guildford and Woking, Maidenhead, Oxford, Reading, south-west London, Watford and west London. Of 33 leasings larger than 50,000 sq ft, 22 were in one of those markets, as were 12 of 16 investment deals that surpassed £100m. Seven of the markets registered prime rental growth above 4% in the past year, with the largest uplift recorded in Maidenhead. Revolution Bars Group has said a takeover proposal from rival bar operator Nightcap is “incapable of being delivered”, as it pushes on with its own plans for a £12.5m raise and restructuring. Revolution said earlier this month that it was in early-stage talks to sell the company to Nightcap, having put itself up for sale in April. The company said it has since received a proposal that presents “a number of challenges”. Medical Properties Trust has closed a new £631m loan secured against a portfolio of UK hospitals. The deal includes 27 of the 36 facilities Medical Properties Trust leases to Circle Health in the UK. It is being executed at an underwritten loan-to-value ratio in the low-40% range, implying a circa 20% increase in value since MPT bought the majority of the underlying properties four years ago. The lending group for the 10-year facility includes a consortium of global institutional, insurance and pension investors led by Song Capital, a European real estate investment firm. And in the nationals, Sky News reports that housebuilder Persimmon is considering a £1bn takeover bid for Legal & General’s Cala Group. All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals:Nightcap knocked back in Revolution takeover talksLife Science REIT investment adviser makes hires’Momentum markets’ drive South East office dealsMount Anvil picked for 300-home Isle of Dogs schemeJapan’s NTT to bring forward 226-home BTR scheme at Brent CrossMPT secures new £631m loan against UK hospitals portfolioGlasgow Enlightenment preps for £95m residential schemeBuyer sought for £24m office in Bayswater regen areaCOMMENT: Costing energy efficiency improvements to existing commercial buildingsElizabeth Taylor haunt snapped up at auctionLevelling Up Partnership funding projects revealedFTSE-100 housebuilder Persimmon weighs £1bn bid for rival CalaIf you build it, will they come? The £8bn regeneration of Brent Cross (£)M&S and Next consider bids for The Body Shop (£)Technology firm announces multifunctional hub and 17 jobs for BelfastHouse prices defy the cost of living crisis (£)