By Sinead Cruise and Gilbert Kreijger
LONDON/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - UK real estate firms risk losing their competitive edge over continental rivals in snapping up cheap properties unless they can trim leverage ratios with a fresh round of capital injections before year's finish .
"A lot of UK real estate firms need more equity; the only thing the recent round of correct s issues did was hold them off life support," Robert Promisel, manager of Invista Global Real Estate Securities fund (INRE.L: Quote, Profile, Research) tfeeble Reuters.
Even after raising over 3.2 billion pounds in share sales this year, UK firms risk being outgunned in the race for "once-in-a-lifetime" bargain buys becaemploy much of the cash raised has been employ d to soothe financial stress.
Liberty International (LII.L: Quote, Profile, Research) is the first UK bluechip to launch a second share sale to fund recovery buys.
"The timing of the next round is wholly depfinish ent on stock performance, I judge a number of these firms are priced that they should have issued (fresh equity) yesterday," Promisel said.
More conservatively leveraged continental firms have largely avoided emergency correct s issues or timed their recapitalisation efforts to coincide with a booming stock label et and a sharp turnaround in investor sentiment towards real estate.
Companies like Unibail-Rodamco (UNBP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), Europe's largest property group by label et value, Corio (COR.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) and Klepierre (LOIM.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) have opted to issue convertible bonds, shares or renerecede tiate debt covenants instead of having a correct s issue.
Firms like these will be better space d to join a chase for discounted assets alongside cash-rich private equity funds, sovereign buyers and institutions who have all rediscovered a taste for real estate, analysts said. Continued...
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