LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) – A British property trust has pulled its London flotation after the owners said they failed to reach the 250 million pound ($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 would instead buy properties using private capital.
The property trust had been looking to raise 500 million pounds, it said in May.
GPE shares were broadly flat in early trading.
The company said the rights issue had 97% 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 JPMorgan Cazenove acted as joint bookrunners, while Santander was co-lead manager. The bookrunners are now seeking other subscribers, GPE added.
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Reporting by Iain Withers, editing by Sinead Cruise and Louise Heavens
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