The £397m real estate investment trust Picton Property Income Limited has revealed that, as part of its ongoing strategic review and sale process, LondonMetric Property and Schroder Real Estate investment trust have expressed interest in purchasing the trust.
In a response, LondonMetric confirmed that, alongside Schroders, it had submitted an indicative proposal to Picton on 4 March 2026.
If the offer goes ahead, it is planned to be an all-share offer. Under the terms of this offer, Picton shareholders would receive new shares in LondonMetric and SREIT, with the exact division of shares to be determined.
“The Consortium believes the possible all-share offer would provide Picton’s shareholders with an opportunity to realise an accelerated return on their investment in Picton whilst rolling their holdings into two market-leading UK-listed REITs of scale,” an announcement from LondonMetric said.
Richard Williams, senior analyst at QuotedData, said: “It would appear LMP would take on the logistics assets [around 67% of the portfolio], if the deal were to go through, while SREI [in which LMP is an 11% shareholder] would take the retail and offices.”
See also: Schroders’ Nick Montgomery: UK real estate is in an unprecedented period
This is “not the greatest outcome for SREI Shareholders”, but investors should wait and see how the portfolio is divided and how much is paid before making a formal judgment, he said.
“There are some strong performing retail warehouses and offices in the portfolio, and if acquired at the right price, could provide SREI with some solid income and growth potential.”
This continues a buzzing week of mergers and acquisitions for REIT’s, following the announcement that AEW UK was considering an offer for Alternative Income REIT.
