Colonial Group has raised €800m through a bond issue as it looks to acquire rival real estate invesmtent trust (REIT) Axiare Patrimonio.

The Spanish REIT, or Socimi, issued senior unsecured notes of €500m with an eight-year maturity and €300m with a 12-year maturity.

Pere Viñolas, CEO of Colonial, said: “The result of this issuance highlights capital-markets support of Colonial’s successful value-creation strategy and acknowledges the good positioning of the company.”

The demand has exceeded the volume of the issue by almost three times, Colonial said.

The company expects to use the net proceeds of the issuance for the general corporate purposes of Colonial, including the financing of new investments and the eventual acquisition of shares of rival Spanish-listed property company Axiare Patrimonio.