Ha! OP here; I hadn't even noticed that, and I read the article about peppercorn rent earlier. I got to here from a long wikitrail that began at a steam enthusiast friend's Facebook post. But perhaps the link caught my attention due to the previous article.

Yesterday the news broke that the UK branch of the Silicon Valley Bank was purchased by HSBC for £1 under the so called "peppercorn" agreement, which is quite common to see in leasehold properties, business transactions etc.

So not unsurprising that the word has stuck in people's minds and a flurry of interested related articles is posted the next day.