RISING RENTS. Empty offices are delivering surprisingly full valuations. That’s the message from swanky London landlord Great Portland Estates (GPOR.L), which revealed on Wednesday that its office values had declined by a mere 1.7% in the 12 months to the end of March. Even more eye-catching is the 1.8 billion pound owner of buildings along London’s Southbank predicting that rents could grow as much as 5% in the coming year. Chief Executive Toby Courtauld is also betting more on offices. He plans to splurge 900 million pounds on eco-friendly “flexible” office spaces to encourage businesses to get staff physically back to work. KKR (KKR.N) has already banked a big win on Great Portland’s recovery, having bought in last September when the stock was languishing around 550 pence a share. Its shares are now trading at 729 pence, although that’s still 21% below their pre-crisis high. A return to offices and a rent bump could close the gap. (By Aimee Donnellan) On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews Earlier in Capital Calls: A tale of two break fees read more JPMorgan"s top team read more FirstGroup’s U.S. bus sale looks hard to divert read more Stellantis spins wheels with Foxconn tech deal read more Accor makes cheeky late check-in to SPAC party read more