Grainger Trust, the UK's largest listed landlord, has branded an unsolicited takeover proposal from Merrill Lynch and UK property investment group Regis as "speculative" and "unwelcome".

Residential property owner Grainger, which last week revealed it had received a preliminary approach from an unnamed suitor and drafted in Lazard as well as its corporate broker JP Morgan Cazenove as joint advisers, rejected the proposal yesterday afternoon.