Great Portland Estates has joined the list of companies looking to raise money to benefit from the slump in property prices.

The company yesterday launched a fully underwritten £166m rights issue, which will allow it to unlock up to £536m in investment funds through access to existing but unused debt facilities.

Toby Courtauld, chief executive, said: 'We are starting to see the sort of value for selected properties that is pretty rare. We are not saying this is the bottom, but the pricing will mean beneficial returns to our shareholders.'

Financial Times, The Times, Daily Telegraph