Landsec buys U and I in £190m deal

THE boss of property developer U and I is set to scoop more than £6m after Land Securities agreed to buy it for £190m.

Richard Upton has a 3.4pc stake in the group he has led since it was formed in 2014, worth £6.3m under the terms of the deal. U and I specialises in developments with a mix of residential and commercial properties and large open spaces. Commerical property developer Landsec said it believed these types of sites are going to be more popular after the pandemic – which has spurred what many believe is a permanent trend of working from home for at least some of the week.

A Landsec spokesman said: ‘The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the blurring of lines between where people live, work and socialise.’

Landsec’s £9.5bn property portfolio includes the Piccadilly lights and advertising billboards in London.