INTERVIEW: First Property To Raise Polish Funds Deal By Deal

9th Jun 2010 11:24

By Rachael Gormley Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K. property fund manager First Property Group PLC (FPO.LN) will most likely raise funds for Polish property buys on a deal-by-deal basis, Chief Executive Ben Habib said Wednesday, after the firm found it difficult to raise a pool of funds upfront. "There's risk aversion and a desire for investors to stay on their own shores," Habib told Dow Jones Newswires. "We're likely to grow [funds] step by step rather than raising a blind fund," he added. First Property has been looking to raise GBP100 million for a new fund to invest in Eastern European property with the majority to be spent in Poland--the only economy in the European Union to have avoided recession in 2009. Habib said that the firm was seeing strong buying opportunities in Poland and was close to finalizing the purchase of a long-leased retail asset with an 8% yield. -By Rachael Gormley, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9308; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 09, 2010 06:24 ET (10:24 GMT)