MORNING NEWS: Landsec takes GIC’s Bluewater stake for £120m

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. Landsec has closed a deal to buy GIC’s 17.5% stake in the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent for £120m. The deal takes the owner’s stake in the centre to 66.25%. The listed owner said the investment would increase its net rental income by £10.3m a year. Warehouse REIT has bought the second phase of Ventura Retail Park in Tamworth for £38.6m, representing a net initial yield of 7.4%. The news comes as the investor returns to profit in the year to 31 March, generating IFRS pretax profit of £34.3m, up from a £182.8m loss last year. The REIT cited “robust” occupier demand, with contracted rent growing by 5.1% on a like-for-like basis. L&Q Estates has sold a 600,000 sq ft site in Coventry to industrial developer Panattoni, which is drawing up plans for a £135m GDV speculative development. The site also has a residential aspect, which has been acquired by Taylor Wimpey. It is expected to consist of up to 73 homes. Combined, the total GDV of the site is estimated to be around £155m.  CBRE has set out plans to combine its project management business with its majority-owned subsidiary Turner & Townsend, as it increases its stake in the consultancy to 70%. On closing the deal, CBRE will own 70% of the combined business, with Turner & Townsend partners holding the remaining 30%. It has invested around $70m (£55.3m) in upping its stake, excluding deal costs. And Firethorn Trust has bought the 150-bed Malmaison York hotel from Lothbury Property Trust, as the latter winds down. The boutique hotel was sold in an off-market deal for an undisclosed sum, although Lothbury had placed a valuation on it of £31m. It is a 29,000 sq ft site occupied by Malmaison on a 35-year lease at £2.1m per annum. Conway Real Estate, JLL and Maples Teesdale advised the buyer. All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals:Warehouse REIT buys slice of Tamworth retail parkLandsec buys out GIC’s Bluewater stake for £120mFlex offices operator Clockwise hires from Instant GroupLondon Tunnels company plans IPO – but not in LondonOffices bounce back but living sectors remain most in demand for investorsL&Q sells 600,000 sq ft Coventry site to PanattoniEdinburgh crowned best-performing UK cityLothbury Property Trust checks out of Malmaison YorkMacquarie raises $1.9bn for opportunistic real estate fundBellway offloads 232-home BTR scheme in DartfordManchester set to approve Forshaw’s £75m resi tower and hotelWaypoint appoints asset management directorWakefield’s Konect62 fills up as second tenant signs for spaceCBRE ups stake in Turner & Townsend in project management mergerWestfield shopping centres generate £18.8m in social valueFrench investor buys Columbia Threadneedle’s Watford officeGreen light for £42m South Yorkshire resi schemeAXA IM Alts appoints contractor for City office towerAllsop raises £57m in June resi auctionLondon Wall office owners to revamp ‘dull and dingy’ schemeFormer Cromwell quartet launches European firmNational deals round-upChancerygate and Hines buy Oldham site for logistics jvTPT rolls out £800m investment funds for UK pension schemesAareal and Advent sell €3.9bn proptech division to TPGOn your marks: the countdown to this year’s Property Tri is onBarclays cuts mortgage rates with other UK lenders expected to follow (£)Two-thirds of green energy projects in Great Britain fail to clear planning stage‘My studio costs half my income’: can British art survive soaring rents and property developers?