MORNING NEWS: LondonMetric grows rents in maiden post-LXi results

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. LondonMetric Property has boosted its rental income in its first financial year results following its mergers with LXi and CTPT. Portfolio value has doubled to £6bn during the year ending 31 March, £2.9bn of which was added through its merger with LXi during the period, along with £300m from its merger with CTPT. The deals mean that LondonMetric has become the third largest UK REIT by market capitalisation. It is also pushing on with its non-core disposal strategy. Post year-end, it has exchanged contracts to sell two former LXi-owned offices in Scotland to a single buyer for £36.6m, reflecting a 7% net initial yield. Blackstone’s real estate arm and Regis Group has agreed terms with Vistry Group to buy a portfolio of new-build homes with a gross development value of around £580m. The portfolio, which is concentrated in the south-east of England and is largely plots from Vistry’s former housebuilding landbank, consists of some 1,750 homes across 36 Vistry developments. The portfolio would be managed by Leaf Living, a private rented sector housing provider backed by funds managed by Blackstone and Regis. Brookfield Asset Management has said it is in the “early stages” of assessing a cash bid for Tritax Eurobox. In a stock market update after close, Tritax Eurobox said the investment firm is considering whether to make an offer for the entire issued share capital of the company. And, Related Argent has secured a £62.7m green loan from NatWest for the first office building in its £8bn Brent Cross Town commercial district in north-west London. The green loan, for 3 Copper Square, NW2, represents NatWest’s second financing to Brent Cross Town. Alongside this, Barnet Council is providing a £100m loan facility to help fund the development. The news comes as construction begins on 3 Copper Square, which will provide 239,000 sq ft of office space across 14 floors, plus flexible retail space at ground-floor level. All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals:LondonMetric grows rent roll following LXi mergerHome REIT tenant enters administrationVistry agrees £580m portfolio sale to Blackstone and RegisRelated Argent gets green loan for first Brent Cross Town officeChurch of England fund makes 4.1% return on investmentsBrookfield weighs cash offer for Tritax EuroboxHarnessing off-site biodiversity units: the key to a successful BNG strategyWhat role can the commercial office play in creating a sense of community?Leeds Bradford Airport Depot changes hands for £25mSavills raises nearly £100m in May auctionsFormer Glasgow Times HQ earmarked for PBSALondon super-prime resi market suffers as election loomsNational deals round-upHollywood Bowl bullish on expanding to 130 venuesUniqlo to move into former Wolf & Badger King’s Cross storePlans for Barnes Hospital resi scheme get thumbs upKnight Frank promotes Evans to new global roleHow councils fell prey to property ‘wide boys’ – and racked up massive debts (£)Tribunal cases to rise as UK firms push back on remote working, experts sayGlobal Banks Start Targeting a New Breed of Real Estate Risk (£)Recovery expected as property market nears ‘trough’