Market wrap: Schroder REIT rises ahead of half-year results

Shares in fund house Schroders’ UK REIT hit a two-and-a-half month high on Monday as the company prepared to publish its latest results. The REIT – which today revealed details of its latest acquisition, a £20m portfolio of industrial assets in the North West of England  – closed at 51.5p a share, its highest since early September. The company has issued a string of updates across its portfolio in recent weeks, including new lettings at a landmark Manchester office tower. It reports half-year results on Tuesday. With many real estate companies tapping the equity markets for fresh capital in recent months, Grit Real Estate Income Group today set out plans to raise $215.6m (£160.9m) from new and existing investors to help it buy controlling stakes in two businesses, Gateway Real Estate Africa and Africa Property Development Management. The company’s London-listed shares closed flat. The day’s most sizeable real estate move among the blue chips stocks was from Berkeley Group, which edged down by 1.4% to 4,393p, making it one of the more notable falls in the FTSE 100. The FTSE 100 finished the day at 7,255, up by 0.4%, with a 0.3% drop on the FTSE 250 to 23,429. To send feedback, e-mail tim.burke@eg.co.uk or tweet @_tim_burke or @EGPropertyNews Photo © Gerd Altmann/Pixabay