New York-listedKennedy Wilson has confirmed plans to acquire 40 properties in the UK as the seed portfolio for the €915 mln IPO of its European real estate business.

New York-listedKennedy Wilson has confirmed plans to acquire 40 properties in the UK as the seed portfolio for the €915 mln IPO of its European real estate business.

The office, industrial and retail properties comprise 241,000 m2 of space in two UK portfolio and are being acquired for £223 mln (€284 mln).

Kennedy Wilson said it will seek to raise £750 mln (€915 mln) by selling shares at £10 each in Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate on the London stock eExchange. Investors have already committed to buy £615 mln of shares, with 12 cornerstone investors accounting for £530 mln.

In addition the company will sell 7,000 shares to KW Europe Investors, an indirect subsidiary of Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, and Welford Limited, a company controlled by funds associated with Värde Partners, to acquire 'Tiger', one of the two portfolios.

Kennedy Wilson has committed to invest £120 mln in the listed entity through an £85 mln investment in the share issue, and £35 mln worth of Tiger consideration shares.

Charlotte Valeur, chairperson of Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate said: 'The establishment of Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate provides a unique opportunity for public market investors to access the highly attractive real estate markets of the UK, Ireland and Spain.'

The listed company will invest primarily in real estate and real estate loans in Europe, initially in the UK, Ireland and Spain, followed by other European countries on an opportunistic basis.

Kennedy Wilson Europe was established in 2011. It has acquired assets directly from 11 financial institutions across the UK and Ireland in 14 transactions. At end- December 2013 it had £2.5 bn of assets under management in Europe. The company has 50 investment professionals across London, Dublin and Madrid, headed by Mary Ricks, with 26 years' experience in the real estate sector.

Its parent company, Kennedy Wilson, is a diversified international real estate investment and services firm, with £8.5 bn of real estate and real estate-related assets under management, totalling 6.4 million m2 in the US, Europe and Japan, as at end-September 2013.