A company established by Aberdeen Property Investors and SEB Enskilda to invest in development projects in Scandinavia has raised €370m (£248m) of equity through a private placing of shares

The company, Scandinavian Property Development, said the equity offering was ‘highly successful’ and attracted more than 230 investors from the US, UK, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Monaco, Iceland, Germany and France. It was four times oversubscribed with subscriptions for €1.5bn (£1bn).

The private placing was managed by SEB Enskilda and ABG Sundal Collier Norge while Aberdeen Property Investors will manage the company. The company is preparing for an over-the-counter listing in Norway later in 2007.

Scandinavian Property will invest in larger development projects in most property sectors in Scandinavia and is targeting a portfolio of €1.2bn to €1.8bn (£810m to £1bn) by the end of the year.

Its first investment is a mixed-use development in Fornebu, near Oslo in Norway.

Stein Haugbro, director at Aberdeen Property Investors and chief executive officer at Scandinavian Property Development, said: ‘The success of the private placing confirms the attractiveness of our business model. The market capitalisation and the shareholder structure should make this an attractive stock after the planned IPO.’