(Bloomberg) -- Hi, I’m Leo from Bloomberg's UK Breaking News team, bringing you the latest stories making waves this morning.

Concern around the commercial real estate market has various investors sensing an opportunity. Sirius Real Estate Ltd., which rents out offices and other workspaces, is seeking to raise about £145 million to help it finance eight planned acquisitions in the UK and Germany. The group’s strategy of reshuffling assets is paying off so far — its occupancy rate as of Sept. 30 remained stable when compared with a year ago. 

What’s your take? Ping me on X or drop me an email at lkehnscherpe@bloomberg.net. 

Key Business News

Shares in Ashtead Group Plc plunged as much as 15% after the equipment rental company cut its full-year forecast. There were a couple of factors at play: First, the quieter hurricane season led to lower demand for the group’s emergency response supplies. Second, the writers’ and actors’ strike in North America hit revenues in recent months. 

London Stock Exchange Group Plc tapped Publicis Groupe’s Michel-Alain Proch to be its finance chief from March. The announcement came after last week’s investor event where the market infrastructure and data provider said it will execute £1 billion of buybacks next year.

BP Plc completed the renewal of its onshore Fowler Ridge 1 wind farm in northwest Indiana that will boost power generation by as much as 40%. The development comes at a time when wind projects are being challenged by everything from inflation, high interest rates to supply chain disruptions. The difficulties have been felt most acutely in offshore developments, with Denmark’s Orsted A/S taking a $4 billion hit earlier this month. 

Barclays Plc is expecting another year of record profit in Japan on the back of the country’s debt and rates market trading resurgence, marking a bright spot for the UK lender as it struggles elsewhere. 

Speaking of government debt, the UK is likely to sell fewer bonds than initially planned this fiscal year after higher tax revenues gave an unexpected boost to the government’s finances. 

Markets Today’s Take

It’s good to be back on the blog and there’s a lot to catch up on. The first thing I noticed: the pound has really charged higher in the week I’ve been off. That’s especially surprising if you consider that last week we had UK inflation data that came in below expectations, showing the biggest drop since 1992, and UK currency traders are talking about rate cuts just a little more loudly.

I mentioned this to my colleague Sam Unsted this morning and he told me we have the dollar to thank, rather than anything to do with pound strength per se. The latest US inflation report was also cooler -- and the greenback is in the driving seat.

Currency markets will be all about betting on the timing of those rate cuts, and which side of the Atlantic will be first to lower borrowing costs next year. It sets us up for an interesting week in currency and gilt markets ahead of Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement.

— Sofia Horta e Costa

For more news and analysis throughout the day, follow Bloomberg UK’s Markets Today blog. 

What’s Next? 

Self-storage company Big Yellow Group Plc will update markets later today, while tomorrow will see updates from online retailer AO World Plc, meat supplier Cranswick Plc, and Petershill Partners Plc — a Goldman Sachs-backed investor in alternative fund managers. 

Shareholders will be keen to know whether Petershill can see an end to private equity’s buyout drought. In September, the firm trimmed its full-year expectations for both fees and acquisitions at the funds it has stakes in. 

Over the next 48 hours or so, we’ll likely see more reports of potential tax cuts Chancellor Jeremy Hunt might announce when he gives his Autumn Statement on Wednesday. Here’s an overview of what may be in the mix. 

--With assistance from Dayana Mustak.

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