Former executives of the LXi Real Estate Investment Trust, which integrated with LondonMetric last year, have announced their intention to launch a new fund, the Special Opportunities Real Estate Investment Trust (SOR), next month. Their strategy focuses on acquiring commercial properties from distressed sellers in what they perceive as a near-market low.

The launch team includes ex-LXi CEO Simon Lee, CFO Freddie Brooks, Investment Director John White, and Property Director Rob Ward. All were instrumental in the previous mergers of the long lease commercial property fund with Secure Income and LondonMetric.

They have pointed out that the current market conditions, characterised by high borrowing costs and declining refinancing rates, have created a pool of forced sellers, such as company pension schemes and open-ended property funds. “Existing Reits were unable to take advantage of the short-term opportunity at scale,” said Simon Lee, underlining the unique positioning of the new trust to capitalise on these conditions. The team aims to build a portfolio that promises substantial growth by leveraging these market inefficiencies.