LONDON-Rugby Estates has joined forces with Bank of Scotland and Merrill Lynch Global Principal Investments to launch the London Industrial Partnership, specialising in industrial properties in the Greater London area.

LONDON-Land Securities has raised pounds 13 million ($20 million) with the sale of a refurbished retail warehouse park in Hendon, North London, to Lothbury Property Trust.

LONDON-Plans for London to bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games have received backing from the four top professional bodies in the property and construction sectors. They believe the games would bring major regeneration benefits to east London.

LONDON-Fresh from its takeover of the Allders department store chain, property company Minerva has received a further boost with news that Deputy prime Minister John Prescott has decided not to intervene in its one million-sf Park Place shopping mall in Croydon, south London.

LONDON-The six-year project to regenerate the former USAF base at Greenham Common in Newbury, Berkshire, has won a Queen's Award for Sustainable Development.

LONDON-Strong investor demand for UK shopping centre investments helped push turnover in the sector over the #1 billion ($1.6 billion) barrier during the first quarter of 2003, according to new research from DTZ.

LONDON-Specialist Central London investor has reduced its exposure to the City office Market with two property investment sales raising pounds 14 million.

LONDON-The German open-ended fund DEGI has paid Hermes pounds 67 million for a 127,000-sf City office investment. This is the latest in a series of purchases by German investors.