Special Opportunities REIT has abandoned plans to IPO after it fell short of the £250m minimum fundraise needed to proceed.
Late last month, the REIT, which is “seeking to capitalise on the recent dislocation in UK real estate capital markets to deliver highly attractive total returns”, set a fundraising target of £500m and a listing on the London Stock Exchange.
The REIT said cornerstone investors GoldenTree Asset Management, TR Property Investment Trust and other Columbia Threadneedle investment funds, and the Bhavnani family office, had agreed to subscribe for between 104 million and 119 million ordinary shares – equivalent to £104m to £119m.
But despite receiving a “number of orders from multiple high-quality institutions in addition to the cornerstone investor commitments” the REIT’s board said it would not be in the best interests of investors to reduce the minimum fundraise below £250m “given the nature of the market opportunity and pipeline”.
In a statement, the REIT said: “The management team will now acquire assets from the pipeline using private capital in line with the company’s proposed strategy. The board and management team would like to thank all investors who have been very engaged throughout the process.”
