diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index d541c8dcf1d7b0f51f59bc0555ddcbcbd076a509..0e5fba0dd98cff304b18e1378b04bb80264ed9f5 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ###############################################################################
-# (c) Copyright 2000-2019 CERN for the benefit of the LHCb Collaboration      #
+# (c) Copyright 2000-2020 CERN for the benefit of the LHCb Collaboration      #
 #                                                                             #
 # This software is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public      #
 # Licence version 3 (GPL Version 3), copied verbatim in the file "COPYING".   #
@@ -16,5 +16,5 @@ find_package(GaudiProject)
 #---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 # Declare project name and version
-gaudi_project(Phys v25r10p2
-              USE Rec v23r5p2)
+gaudi_project(Phys v25r11
+              USE Rec v23r6)
diff --git a/ReleaseNotes/release_notes_template.md b/ReleaseNotes/release_notes_template.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6ec1811c933a872cc6a1bf5ca6e698485afe03e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ReleaseNotes/release_notes_template.md
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+{% set categories = [
+    'selection', 'hlt1', 'hlt2', 'Configuration',
+    'Decoding', 'Tracking', 'PV finding', 'Muon', 'Calo', 'RICH', 'Jets',
+    'PID', 'Composites', 'Filters', 'Functors',
+    'Event model', 'Persistency',
+    'MC checking', 'Monitoring', 'Luminosity',
+    'Core', 'Conditions', 'Utilities',
+    'Simulation',  'Tuples', 'Accelerators',
+    'Flavour tagging',
+    'Build',
+    ] -%}
+{% set used_mrs = [] -%}
+{% macro section(labels, used=used_mrs) -%}
+{% for mr in order_by_label(select_mrs(merge_requests, labels, used), categories) -%}
+  {% set mr_labels = categories|select("in", mr.labels)|list -%}
+- {% if mr_labels %}{{mr_labels|map('label_ref')|join(' ')}} | {% endif -%}
+  {{mr.title|sentence}}, {{mr.reference}} (@{{mr.author.username}}){% if mr.issue_refs %} [{{mr.issue_refs|join(',')}}]{% endif %}{% if 'highlight' in mr.labels %} :star:{% endif %}
+{# {{mr.description|mdindent(2)}} -#}
+{% endfor -%}
+{% endmacro -%}
+{{date}} {{project}} {{version}}
+===
+
+This version uses Rec v23rX, Lbcom v22rX, LHCb v44rX, Gaudi v29r5 and LCG_93 with ROOT 6.12.06
+
+This version is released on `2018-patches` branch. It is intended for 2018 stripping (`S34r0pX`, `S35r2(pX)`, `S35r3(pX)`) and patches to Moore and stripping in 2018 simulation workflows. Builds with gcc62 on slc6 and centos7 and with gcc7 on centos7
+
+Built relative to Phys v25rX, with the following changes:
+
+### New features ~"new feature"
+
+{{ section(['new feature']) }}
+
+### Fixes ~"bug fix" ~workaround
+
+{{ section(['bug fix', 'workaround']) }}
+
+### Enhancements ~enhancement
+
+{{ section(['enhancement']) }}
+
+### Code cleanups and changes to tests ~modernisation ~cleanup ~testing
+
+{{ section(['cleanup', 'modernisation', 'testing']) }}
+
+### Documentation ~Documentation
+
+{# Collect documentation independently, may lead to repeated entries -#}
+{{ section(['Documentation'], used=None) }}
+{# Mark as used such documentation does not appear under Other -#}
+{% set dummy = section(['Documentation']) -%}
+
+### Other
+
+{{ section([[]]) }}
diff --git a/ReleaseNotes/v25r11.md b/ReleaseNotes/v25r11.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..fa78305d98d67d49334a6bc3fe35f613483cd5c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ReleaseNotes/v25r11.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+2020-05-08 Phys v25r11
+===
+
+This version uses Rec v23r6, Lbcom v22r2, LHCb v44r7, Gaudi v29r5 and LCG_93 with ROOT 6.12.06
+
+This version is released on `2018-patches` branch. It is intended for 2018 Heavy Ions restripping (`S35r2`, `S35r3`) and patches to Moore and stripping in 2018 simulation workflows. Builds with gcc62 on slc6 and centos7 and with gcc7 on centos7
+
+Built relative to Phys v25r10p2, with the following changes:
+
+
+### Code cleanups and changes to tests ~modernisation ~cleanup ~testing
+
+- ~Build | Remove OPTIONS "-U__MINGW32__" from gaudi_add_dictionary directive, !708 (@cattanem)
+- Remove unnecessary import of L0DUConfig.opts, !683 (@cattanem)
+- Complete the removal of upgrade detectors, !671 (@cattanem)
+- Remove upgrade detectors, !659 (@cattanem)
+- Fixed doubled CLHEP entries in DecayTreeFitter/CMakeLists.txt, !642 (@cattanem)
+- Fix gcc7 deprecation warnings, !635 (@cattanem)
+- Replace deprecated std::auto_ptr with std::unique_ptr, !634 (@cattanem)
+- Remove use of deprecated `register` keyword, !607 (@cattanem)
+- Remove deprecated register storage specifier, !606 (@cattanem)