The title A Promising Hunting Ground for Contrarians gives the impression that this article will talk about commercial property investment trusts in the UK and why it may represent a good opportunity for contrarian investors. Indeed, the article delves into how US private equity giant Blackstone Inc. took advantage of the current apprehension in the banking sector to swoop in and buy UK industrial property investor, Industrials REIT Ltd. It went onto to explain that the underlying pitch is that due to increasing online presence, there is a demand shift from the high-street towards logistics hubs.
The analysts at broker Peel Hunt reckon that investors in the REITs got a good price, with the share price being a premium over the value of their underlying property portfolio. There is some more potential upside as well if the markets become more certain and capital values stabilize.
The article also suggests potential targets for contrarian-minded investors. Potential companies worth investigating include Warehouse REIT Plc, LondonMetric Property Plc and Harworth Group Plc. All of them trade on big discounts to their net tangible assets which can potentially provide an attractive entry point for investors.
Company-wise, Blackstone Inc is an American multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services company based in New York City. It is one of the largest alternative investment firm in the world, with assets under management worth over $550 billion as of 2021. It specializes in private equity, credit and hedge fund investment strategies. Blackstone has ownership of various companies globally and has been investing heavily in the UK commercial property sector.
Person-wise, Sebastian Lyon is the co-founder and Investment Director of Troy Asset Management Ltd. He is an experienced fund manager who has worked in the investment industry for 20 years. Sebastian specializes in finding undervalued companies with strong management team, finances, consistent growth and a well-funded longevity. He also served on the Investment Advisory Committee for Standard Life Aberdeen for a number of years. Sebastian was recently featured in Merryn Talks Money Podcast, a financial investment podcast, in which he had a live recording at Bloomberg Invest event in London.
