Tritax Big Box poised for FTSE 100 upgrade

The £4bn real estate trust is set to join the UK’s premier index in March, with Baillie Gifford’s Schiehallion likely joining the FTSE 250 and All Share.

Tritax Big Box Reit (BBOX) is set to join the FTSE 100 at its next quarterly update in early March, according to forecasts by JPMorgan Cazenove.

The £4bn real estate investment trust (Reit) has enjoyed an 8.2% increase in its share price over the past three months having sealed a deal to buy £1bn worth of Blackstone’s UK logistics properties in October.

The specialist warehouse investor had lost a bidding war with Blackstone to buy Warehouse Reit (WHR) shortly before – which the US alternative investor paid £489m for – but reached its own agreement soon after. Blackstone took an 8.6% stake in BBOX as part of the deal.

Tritax chief executive Colin Godfrey called 2025 a ‘transformational year’ for the trust in its annual results last month, with shares up 14.7% over the period.

Contracted rent grew from £314m to £361m throughout the year, with the recently acquired Blackstone assets contributing £53m.

Shares in the trust have bounced back from a steep 44.3% decline in 2022 – a year when soaring interest rates and gilt yields battered the sector. However, its current share price is still 33.2% below its peak of 249p at the start of 2022.

Elsewhere, JPMorgan Cazenove anticipate that Baillie Gifford’s Schiehallion (MNTN) will join the FTSE 250 and FTSE All Share at the indices’ March rejig.

Shares in the £1.8bn private equity trust are up a sizable 45.5% over the past three months after its second-largest holding – SpaceX – soared in value.

A tender offer in December doubled Elon Musk’s rocket company’s estimated worth to £800m, boosting its exposure in MNTN’s portfolio from to 14% from 7.5% the month prior. That was revised down slightly to 13.8% by the end of the December, with Italian software company Bending Spoons remaining its largest holding ay 14.6% of the portfolio.

Despite its rapid re-rating in recent months, SpaceX may have further to grow as founder Musk is allegedly eyeing mid-June for its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO).

He is rumoured to be aiming for a $50bn fundraise at a valuation of $1.5trn, making it the largest IPO in history. This could act as a further driver to MNTN’s shares.

JP Morgan Cazenove’s expects Starwood European Real Estate Finance (SWEF) to exit the FTSE All Share in March as it continues to return capital as part of its managed wind-down. It holds just £22m in assets as it nears the end of the process.