Regional REIT (RGL) - extra article omitted in August 2021

Regional REIT (RGL, 90.25p) has agreed to dispose of a large industrial property portfolio for £45m, in line with its policy of concentrating on regional office investments. The price represents a 7.5% increase on the end-2020 valuation, and means that RGL has at a stroke sold off more than half of its industrial holdings. We think RGL’s new policy is interesting, and certainly one that serves to differentiate the trust, but at this point in the pandemic recovery, when individuals and companies are very much still in the process of figuring out how a future ‘hybrid’ work model might look, the trust’s bold ploy looks fairly risky. For now, we believe there are better opportunities in the property sector.