Laxey Partners, the activist shareholder, will this week launch a £1bn opportunity fund to buy commercial-property shares. Sunday Times, Financial Times

Laxey will begin a round of fund raising to secure between £250m and £300m of cash from institutional investors. This will be geared up using a debt facility from Credit Suisse to provide at least £1bn of buying power.

The fund will be called Terra Catalyst and will be floated on AIM in February. It will be chaired by Robert Ware, a well-known property entrepreneur and former director of MEPC, which was once Britain’s fourth-biggest listed property group.