LONDON (Reuters) - British property developer Capital & Counties said it would raise as much as 260 million pounds through a share placing to invest in its Covent Garden estate and Earls Court regeneration project.
The company said on Wednesday that it would place up to 75,900,000 new shares, representing approximately 9.99 percent of its issued share capital, immediately prior to the placing.
Shares in Capco closed at 348.9 pence on Tuesday.
"The capital raised through this placing would provide Capco with the financial flexibility and strength to accelerate a number of strategic investment opportunities across both estates over the short to medium-term," the company said.
The popularity of its Covent Garden estate, a tourist destination in London with numerous shop and food outlets, has helped Capco's net asset value to grow to 1.9 billion pounds from 791 million pounds over the four years to end-2013.
It said it expects to spend 85 million pounds in redevelopment at Covent Garden and to also buy up further properties.
At Earls Court, a 77-acre regeneration scheme that Capco is leading in west London, it said it would use the cash to demolish the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in 2015 and to buy land around the site.
(Corrects to as much as 260 million pounds in paragraph 1, removes reference to nominal share value in paragraph 2)
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; editing by Kate Holton)