Great Portland Estates (GPE) has successfully raised £350 million to advance new opportunities in central London.

In May, GPE launched a fully underwritten three-for-five rights issue, aiming to generate approximately £350 million gross – £336 million net of expenses – by issuing 152 million new shares at 230 pence each.

Today, GPE confirmed that it had received acceptances for 96.8% of the new shares from existing shareholders. The remaining shares will be placed by the deal’s underwriters, with final figures to be released later.

GPE’s Chief Executive, Toby Courtauld, stated, “I am pleased to announce we have successfully raised gross proceeds of £350 million to capitalise on our pipeline of compelling new opportunities in central London. The combination of the Capital’s disrupted investment market and the increasingly evident supply drought of high quality spaces in our core market of the West End, means we are optimistic about the returns we can generate from both our £1.4bn pipeline of potential acquisitions and across our existing HQ and Flex offerings.”

He also expressed gratitude to shareholders, saying, “I want to reiterate our thanks to all our shareholders and we look forward to providing an update on our progress in due course.”

The funds are raised as the demand for GPE’s office spaces across London rebounds to pre-pandemic levels. Post-pandemic, tenants have become more selective, preferring top-tier buildings with less space due to the increase in work-from-home practices.

GPE plans to allocate £168 million from the rights issue proceeds to capital expenditure for its Soho Square Estate and a new development, The Courtyard. This will raise the total capex on committed GPE schemes from £498 million to £666 million.

The Courtyard project was acquired through a property swap with the City of London Corporation, exchanging GPE’s interest in 95/96 New Bond Street for the long leasehold interest at The Courtyard.