London, June 24, 2026, 18:04 BST
- FTSE 100 finished up 0.31% at 10,461.63. The FTSE 250 was also higher, adding 0.76% to close at 23,101.52.
- Segro rose 17.4% after turning down a £12.6 billion all-stock bid from Prologis.
- Listed property trusts outperformed, but energy and mining stocks lost ground. The pound climbed to its highest level against the euro in 10 months.
FTSE 100 up 0.3% as property lifts London stocks
London shares finished higher on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 added 0.3%. The FTSE 250 snapped a four-day losing run, closing up 0.8%. Property stocks led the gains.
Segro turned down a buyout proposal from U.S.-based Prologis that put the UK warehouse group’s value at 925p a share, about £12.6 billion. The rejected deal was all in Prologis stock, with Segro investors set to get 0.084 Prologis shares for each Segro share.
Segro jumped 17.4% to finish at 871 pence, still under the offer price. News around the bid boosted peers—Land Securities up 4.1%, while British Land added roughly 3.4%.
Property gains might disappear if Prologis backs out or holds firm on its current bid. The U.S. company has until July 22 to make a definitive move. Net asset value, or NAV, is assets minus liabilities. “In our view Prologis would be reluctant to increase the offer materially and take it above NAV,” said Oli Creasey, head of property research at Quilter Cheviot. Reuters
Berkeley Group shares climbed around 8% after the housebuilder stuck to its £1.4 billion pretax profit target for the next four years. For the year, pretax profit slipped 15% to £451.4 million and was a touch below analyst forecasts. “Every part of the system needs to work to reduce the time taken to get buildings into development,” Chairman Rob Perrins said. Reuters
Liontrust Asset Management shares jumped 13% after the group reported net withdrawals slowed to £276 million for the quarter ending June 19. Gross institutional inflows topped £500 million. Net outflows for the full year eased, coming in at £4.18 billion, down from £4.90 billion. Liontrust still cut its total dividend to 19 pence from 72 pence.
FTSE 100 struggled as resource stocks slipped. BP dropped 3.7% to 480p. Endeavour Mining and Glencore both lost about 3.5%, hit by weaker commodity prices.
The pound hit its highest level against the euro since August 2025 with traders watching the Labour succession after Prime Minister Keir Starmer quit. Sterling slipped 0.1% against the dollar to $1.319. “The obstacles to a Burnham coronation are slowly being cleared, offering sterling support at the margin,” said Nick Rees, head of macro analysis at Monex Europe. Traders have factored in about a quarter-point rate hike by the Bank of England this year. Reuters
