American corporate raider Boaz Weinstein has trained his guns on property companies. 

Through his vehicle Saba, Weinstein has been wreaking havoc in the investment trust sector. He is now trying similar tricks on their close cousins, real estate investment trusts (REITs).

The first big showdown looms this month at the shareholder meeting of London office property group Workspace. Weinstein’s approach is to take a stake and use it to railroad through his own agenda, regardless of the wishes or interests of other shareholders.

He is attempting one of his trademark boardroom coups at the Workspace meeting on July 23, in which he is seeking to defenestrate directors and replace them with his own candidates.

Saba has also taken a stake in Grainger, the UK’s largest private landlord. The City rumour mill is whirring with speculation he has London office specialist Derwent in his sights. 

Weinstein is not the only bidder in town. US operator Prologis is trying to buy FTSE 100-listed Segro, which is big in logistics warehouses and data centres.

In truth, because share prices of these and other REITs are trading at steep discounts to the value of their net assets, no one in the sector looks safe from opportunist bidders.

But if Weinstein, who wants to sell off assets and outsource the property management, is hoping for a walkover at Workspace he is likely to be disappointed. The group’s new chief executive, Charlie Green, has drawn up a long-term strategy to upgrade properties and improve the offer to the small and medium businesses that are his core customers.

Saba’s plan, of selling heavily into a difficult market, risks becoming a fire sale and creating an exodus of tenants.

Pivotal to the outcome is Nick Roditi, a star fund manager and one of investor and philanthropist George Soros’ trusted lieutenants back in the 1990s.

Roditi is the largest shareholder in Workspace, with a 29 per cent stake through his Cayman Islands-based London & Amsterdam Trust, ahead of Saba with around 27pc.

Interestingly, at Grainger, there is also a substantial figure on the share register: none other than retail tycoon Mike Ashley, who is many things but no pushover.

The performance of many REITs has left a great deal to be desired. In many cases, they have pinned targets to their own backs. There is a school of thought that the emergence of Weinstein and his fellow bidders is healthy capitalism at work. That does not automatically make it a good idea to sell to Saba on the cheap.

At the investment trusts, its effect largely has been destructive at a time when the London market is battling to hold on to value and status.

REITs hold assets that are important to the economy and the social fabric: high quality rental homes at Grainger; AI data centres at Segro.

Workspace is not a social enterprise but its customers are entrepreneurs on whom the country depends for growth.

Real businessmen and women, employing real staff, would be at the sharp end of Saba’s proposals. They have far more productive things to do than worry about their office building being sold, having to move premises or dealing with a new landlord.

REITs are not just about bricks and mortar, but about people. Those targeted in recent years include companies that own GP surgeries and accommodation for vulnerable adults. The ownership of such assets is too important to allow the likes of Saba to buy them up from under our noses.