Sector movers: British Land drags REIT sector lower after placing plans

The real estate investment trust (REIT) category was the worst performer of Tuesday's session as a sharp fall for heavyweight property group British Land weighed on the sector.The company revealed this morning that it has disposed of Ropemaker Place in London for £472m and would be undergoing a placing to raise around £500m to fund attractive investment opportunities. However, shares were down 2.84% at 564p by the afternoon on concerns about the dilutive impact on the stock from the placing.Analysts at Jefferies said today that the placing and disposal now give British Land around £1.0bn of leveraged firepower it needs and "equitizing" real estate is what REITs should do. However, the firm "now has execution risk, which is likely to subdue the shares until income is bought", they said.Furthermore, the broker added that as share prices tighten across the REIT sector, we could see further equity calls from other companies. "Historically, this type of activity has marked the top of the capital cycle."Sector peers Hammerson, Primary Health Properties, Great Portland Estates, Warner Estate Holdings and Town Centre Securities were also firmly out of favour on Tuesday.Top performing sectors so far todayIndustrial Metals & Mining 2,703.76 +2.22%Forestry & Paper 9,591.89 +1.19%Health Care Equipment & Services 4,145.42 +1.17%Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 24,878.65 +1.15%Mining 19,671.30 +1.06%Bottom performing sectors so far todayReal Estate Investment Trusts 2,256.99 -1.17%Household Goods & Home Construction 9,788.27 -0.44%Real Estate Investment & Services 2,115.92 -0.22%Personal Goods 22,488.87 -0.16%General Retailers 2,080.92 -0.15%BC