LONDON: A British property trust has pulled its London flotation after the owners said they failed to reach the 250 million pound (US$319 million) minimum demand required, amid ongoing investor concern about strains in the UK commercial real estate market.
Special Opportunities REIT said on Wednesday it did not believe it was in the best interests of investors to reduce the minimum and said it would instead acquire properties using private capital.
The property trust had been looking to raise 500 million pounds, it said in May.
The company had hoped it could gain traction with investors willing to bet the British property sector had turned a corner, after values tumbled in recent years due to higher borrowing costs and weakened demand for office space following the pandemic.
Separately on Wednesday, commercial property owner Great Portland Estates (GPE) said it had completed a 350 million pounds rights issue to raise capital for fresh acquisitions, but its bank underwriters may have to pick up a small number of the shares offered.
GPE said the rights issue had 97 per cent take-up, but nearly 5 million shares had gone unsold.
After market close on Tuesday, the company added that investors which had agreed to take on a further 6 million shares may not be able to do so due to "jurisdictional restrictions."
GPE said Bank of America, Deutsche Numis and JP Morgan Cazenove acted as joint bookrunners, while Santander was co-lead manager. The bookrunners are now seeking other subscribers, GPE added.