Berkeley Group's £300million Land Aquistion War Chest

Housebuilder Berkeley Group Holdings Plc has raised £50 million from shareholders to bolster its war chest for land acquisitions, it said on Today.

In an interim management statement today, the housebuilder said it was issuing 6 million shares to existing shareholders in order to reinforce Berkeley's balance sheet “so that it can take advantage of more opportunities to invest in new land”.

Berkeley said the placing will give it a £300 million war chest to invest in new land. "The current market weakness presents exceptional value creation opportunities for strong businesses," said the group in a statement.

However, shareholders will have to forgo the expected £3 dividend Berkeley had previously committed to returning to them by 2014, as well as suffering a 5% dilution in price due to the share placement.