£4BN PROPERTY TIE-UP

A FTSE 250 property group has swooped on a smaller rival as consolidation in the sector gathers steam.

Mid-cap LXi Real Estate Investment Trust, which owns a portfolio including hotels, car parks and care homes, will merge with AIM-listed Secure Income REIT in an all-share deal. Secure investors will receive 3.3 LXi shares for each share they own, and the deal values it at just under £1.5bn.

The tie-up creates a company with assets worth £3.9bn. LXi investors will own 53pc of the group while Secure’s will control the remaining 47pc.

Shares in Secure rose 8.8pc, or 36p, to 447p. LXi dropped 3.7pc, or 5.2p, to 137p.