At Shares, we have been flagging the potential for M&A in the investment trust space for months, not least in the REIT (real estate investment trust) sector due to the abundance of companies trading well below their net asset values.In the last month alone, three real estate mergers have been announced ? between LondonMetric (LMP) and LXI (LXI), Tritax Big Box (BBOX) and UK Commercial Property (UK

The recent wave of takeovers and mergers in the quoted UK commercial real estate sector has continued this week with the proposed all-share takeover of UK Commercial Property (UKCM) by Tritax Big Box (BBOX).The deal, which values UKCM at 71.1p per share or a 10.8% premium to the previous day?s closing price, would create the UK?s fourth-largest REIT (real estate investment trust) by market cap wit

Investors in FTSE 100 stocks on Monday held their nerve before key inflation data in the US tomorrow, while mid-cap stocks rose strongly ahead.The FTSE 100 index closed up 1.11 points at 7,573.69. The FTSE 250 ended up 141.61 points, 0.7%, at 19,203.93, and the AIM All-Share closed up 2.77 points, 0.4%, at 750.18.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.1% at 757.21, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 1.0% at 16,622.23,

Stock prices in London were mixed at the start of Monday afternoon, with the FTSE 100 down, as shares in some of its larger constituents struggled at the start of the week.The FTSE 100 index fell 11.34 points, 0.2%, at 7,561.24. The FTSE 250 is up 74.94 points, 0.4%, at 19,137.26, and the AIM All-Share added 1.39 points, 0.2%, at 748.80.The Cboe UK 100 fell 0.1% to 755.81, the Cboe UK 250 climbed

All-share deal to create top four REITOffer at a 10.8% premium to closing priceStrong strategic rationale for combiningThe wave of consolidation in the UK listed property sector looks set to continue with today?s announcement of an proposed deal between Tritax Big Box (BBOX) and UK Commercial Property (UKCM) to create the fourth-largest REIT (real estate investment trust) by market value.Shares in

London?s FTSE 100 opened up a tad higher on Monday, kicking off a busy week in a muted fashion.Investors will have inflation reports from the UK and US to mull over this week, as well as a steady flow of corporate earnings.It was a largely quiet start to the week for the corporate diary, though there was some impetus from property sector M&A.The FTSE 100 index opened up 9.23 points, 0.1%, at 7,581

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATUREUK commercial property has been an unforgiving place to invest in recent years. However, many of the factors that have weighed on the sector are now starting to reverse. There has been a stabilisation of values in key parts of the market and, while caution is still warranted, it could be back to business as usual for the commercial property sector.The sector has had

We would hesitate to call it a wave of consolidation - maybe a ripple would be more appropriate - but this year has seen a number of mergers among investment trusts.There is a long tail of sub-scale funds and trusts in the UK all desperate to attract more investors, but with the average discount to net asset value hitting 18% at the end of October, according to research from Winterflood Securities

Combined market value just over £1 billionCombined assets close to £2 billionUK property sector ripe for consolidationThe UK property sector received a jolt this morning with the news UK Commercial Property REIT (UKCM), managed by investment group abrdn (ABDN), and independently-run Picton Property Income (PCTN), were in all-share merger talks.If the talks are successful, the merged company woul

THIS IS AN ADVERTISING FEATUREWill Fulton and Jamie Horton, Investment Managers, UK Commercial Property REITInterest rates have dented commercial property valuations over the past 18 monthsThree elements are crucial to the outlook for the commercial property sector: revaluation, investment recovery and a supply squeezeThere are still vulnerable parts of the market, particularly in the office secto

September was a bad month for stocks in general, but it was especially poor for UK REITs (real estate investment trusts), with 77% of the sector by market cap being derated according to analysts at Winterflood, leaving 24 out of 32 trusts down over nine months.With worries over the economy, discounts to NAV (net asset value) continuing to widen and retail investors exiting the sector in their drov

Our latest review of the best and worst earnings revisions across the FTSE 350 throws up a few surprises in terms of sectors and individual stocks, particularly in the light of their relative performance.There are three distinct clusters of winners, split between investment, real estate and consumer discretionary companies.Among the investment companies, Molten Ventures (GROW) - previously known a

Leading UK shares closed convincingly higher with big cap miners doing well as US data pointed to an economic rebound across the pond. The benchmark FTSE 100 finished ahead by over 116 points, or 1.68%, at 7,039.30, while mid-caps also ended the day up, the FTSE 250 adding 0.25% at 22,385.90.The IHS Markit report in the US came in better than expected in April, with the services purchasing manager

Leading UK shares were clinging above the 7,000 level as commodity stocks provided support and Tuesday's comments about interest rate hikes from US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen faded into the background.At midday, the FTSE 100 was 1.15% ahead at 7,002.96, led by mining group Anglo American's (AAL) 3.6% gain at £31.88, with BHP (BHP), Glencore (GLEN) and Rio Tinto (RIO) also ahead. Other cyclic

London's FTSE 100 opened higher on Wednesday with mining companies boosted by rising commodity prices buoyed by global recovery hopes.At 08.35 am, the blue chip benchmark was up 0.8% at 6,981.24 points, having lost ground on Tuesday due to a sell-off in US tech stocks.Miners led the charge early on, with BHP (BHP), Glencore (GLEN) and Rio Tinto (RIO) up 2.4%, 2.2% and 2.2%, respectively. Other cyc

Leading UK shares fell throughout morning trading on Friday as a jump in retail sales lifted the pound and hurt export-orientated companies.The benchmark FTSE 100 lost 0.47% to 6,905 by lunchtime with large dollar-earning exporters like consumer staples companies Unilever (ULVR), Diageo (DGE) and British American Tobacco (BATS) slipping by up to 1% as the pound strengthened against the dollar.Heav

Leading UK shares fell in early trading on Friday despite a surge in March retail sales as a stronger pound weighed on export-oriented companies.The benchmark FTSE 100 lost 0.26% in early deals at 6,919.95 with large dollar-earning exporters like consumer staples companies Unilever (ULVR), Diageo (DGE) and British American Tobacco (BATS) slipping by up to 1% as the pound strengthened against the d

UK were firmer at the open on Monday, taking their cue from positive grey market trading on Wall Street and strong Asian gains, after the Bank of Japan expanded its monetary stimulus again.The benchmark FTSE 100 rallied a fraction off 100 point, or 1.7%, to 5,851.95, while the mid cap FTSE 250 charged 2% higher at 15,996.93.Asia markets have got off to a positive start as a raft of countries get r

One of the areas worst affected by the EU referendum was the UK property sector whose performance is dependent on the health of the economy. Many of the real-estate investment trusts (REITs) suffered sharp falls in their share prices, but confidence has improved due to the resilience of the economic data.Neil Woodford thinks that people are too downbeat about the UK economy and has included the Ne

Open-ended property funds and economic uncertainty are not a great combination. Fears over what the UK's decision to leave the European Union (EU) will mean for the economy has laid bare one of the main risks of investing in such type of fund, namely a lack of liquidity.This is reminiscent of the queues seen outside branches of high street bank Northern Rock during 2007's financial crisis. This ti