London & Stamford has agreed a £200m joint venture with a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth investor to buy property in the UK. Financial Times, The Times
The deal with Cavendish, a wholly owned subsidiary of an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, will almost double the amount of equity the Aim-listed property investment company can spend on UK property.
L&S, run by veteran property investors Raymond Mould and Patrick Vaughan, raised £285m in January, although it has not yet spent any cash.
The company was set up to take advantage of distressed property sales, although Mr Vaughan said yesterday that the investment market had not yet reached its bottom.