MORNING NEWS: Crown Estate plots £1.5bn life sciences push

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. The Crown Estate has earmarked £1.5bn for investment into the life sciences sector. Chief executive Dan Labbad said the Crown, which in May committed £125m to help Oxford Science Enterprises and Pioneer Group turn a former Debenhams into a life sciences scheme, wants to ramp up its activity in the sector over the next 15 years, starting with multi-stakeholder projects around Oxford and Cambridge. “We want to play a role in supporting growth of the sector,” said Labbad. “Our focus on growth sectors such as life sciences and clean tech will bring opportunities to link regional innovation centres and institutional capital. Wherever possible we will bring public and private sectors together, and help to catalyse investment in innovation.” More than 660,000 sq ft of retail space is due to hit the market following the announced closure of all but 54 of Carpetright’s stores, according to exclusive data from EG Radius. The company’s new owner, Tapi, bought the retailer out of insolvency this week and announced it would keep 54 stores and two warehouses. However, this leaves 213 further stores earmarked for closure, with the anticipated loss of 1,500 jobs. Grainger has acquired the Astley, a 135-home build-to-rent scheme in Manchester, from M&G Real Estate for £31m. The deal adds to Grainger’s existing 1,700 rental homes in the region, including Clippers Quay at Salford Quays and the Filaments near Spinningfields. Chief executive Helen Gordon said: “The Astley is an excellent acquisition – a stabilised, income-producing, high-quality BTR asset of 135 homes within our existing Manchester cluster, supported by our ongoing asset recycling programme. Today’s acquisition is earnings accretive and reflects the increasing number of opportunities we are seeing in the market to acquire existing BTR assets.” Harworth Group is on track to hit a £1bn net development value milestone by the end of 2027. In a trading update covering the six months to 30 June, the company said NDV is expected to have risen “moderately” over the period from £662.9m at the end of December, reflecting valuation gains in its land and property portfolios. Chief executive Lynda Shillaw said: “Harworth has continued to deliver against its growth strategy to reach £1bn EPRA NDV by the end of 2027 and we recently announced our intention to grow the investment portfolio to £0.9bn by the end of 2029. This growth will largely be driven by our existing industrial and logistics pipeline, which now totals 38.8m sq ft, and will see the delivery of strategically positioned grade A assets we intend to retain and hold.” There’s also news on Cushman & Wakefield’s latest promotions round, a near-£450m equity raise from Unite and Urban&Civic buying L&Q Group’s strategic land business. All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals:Crown sets aside £1.5bn for life sciences as it focuses on most valuable growthCarpetright collapse to deliver 660,000 sq ft of vacant space to marketPrimary Health Properties not immune to headwinds as profit tumblesGrainger acquires £31m Manchester BTR schemeHarworth eyes £1bn NDV targetPalace Capital continues disposal driveDevelopment partners sought for Cheshire regen schemesUnite seeks £450m capital raise to fuel growthAre life sciences landlords operational-ready?SME developer joins Homes England delivery panelSheffield Forgemasters submits plans for 320,000 sq ft facilityHarleyford strikes five deals in £300m logistics portfolio build-outCushman promotes 32 staff across UK and IrelandDurham’s Riverwalk signs Thai street food chainRoundShield hires investment director from Round HillStockport kicks off search for partner for latest phase of £1bn regenIntegritas grows senior team as it eyes global expansionRecord rent deal for Warrington’s Phoenix HouseOakland buys Bracknell site for new care homeHarworth receives consent for Derbyshire logistics schemeQIP and Gamuda secure £47m for Woolwich PBSAUrban&Civic acquires L&Q’s strategic land businessRegal appoints Lord Harrington as chairCain completes £124m refi at the StageADIA commits $400m to Arrow for European lending strategyAll go for York government hubStonegate nears debt refinancing with new funds from owner TDR (£)Housebuilding must double to hit Labour target of 1.5m in 5 years (£)Investors warm to UK equities in ‘turning of tide’ for unloved market (£)Labour urged to let Bank of England control UK inflation target (£)