London loses again: FTSE 100 landlord Segro will be missed

Doubly depressing takeover by a US buyer deprives the UK market of a property company that is genuinely different For a few hours on Wednesday, it seemed possible we were about to witness a rare stock market event: a FTSE 100 company holding out against a hostile raider from the US and defying some of its own large shareholders to defend its independence. Sadly, it didn’t happen. Segro, the FTSE 100 warehouse landlord known as Slough Estates for much of its corporate life, capitulated minutes before the deadline and said it was “minded to recommend” the “best and final” offer of £14bn, or £10.32 a share, from the US giant Prologis of San Francisco. The two sides now have until 12 August to hammer out a firm agreement. The deal will be the biggest Footsie takeover so far in the current bid-heavy year. In a couple of ways, it will also be the most depressing. First, because David Sleath, Segro’s long-serving chief executive, put up a decent fight and had the better of the arguments. While most property transactions happen close to the book value of the assets (905p in this case), Sleath invited Segro’s shareholders to lie back, be patient and think of the growth opportunities in AI d