By Sinead Cruise
LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Global property stocks investor Cohen & Steers Inc plans to take up its full entitlement to shares in the combined 1.3 billion pound ($1.9 billion) rights issues by UK property companies British Land and Hammerson.
Cohen & Steers' European chief investment officer Gerios Rovers told Reuters on Friday the company had identified pockets of value in Britain's hard-hit listed property sector and was ready to take advantage of its attractive discounts.
"We will take up the rights fully for both companies, and if there's more to follow, we will look to do the same thing," Rovers said.
On Monday, Anglo-French retail specialist Hammerson announced plans to raise 590 million pounds in a 7-for-5 rights issue of 406 million shares at a 62 percent discount to its Feb. 6 closing price.
Three days later British Land said it was seeking 740 million pounds from a 2-for-3 sale of 341 million shares at a 53 percent discount to its Feb. 11 price.
According to Reuters data, Cohen & Steers owns a 0.8 percent stake in British Land, and is the 12th largest institutional shareholder in Hammerson, with a 1.6 percent stake.
The rights issues follow a torrid period for UK commercial real estate, during which average values have plummeted almost 40 percent since summer 2007.
That slide has left many real estate firms vulnerable to breaching value-related covenants on loans, forcing some to seek new equity to soothe nervous lenders and avert potential repossessions.
But crisis often spawns opportunity, Rovers said, adding that further UK real estate company rights issues could not be ruled out.
"We look at it as a positive, and hopefully you can also look at it from an opportunistic point of view. At these levels, you're probably going to see some real value coming out of that part of the world," he said.
Cohen & Steers specialises in managing income-oriented equity portfolios of real estate securities, large cap value stocks, utilities and listed infrastructure companies. Its total assets under management were $15.1 billion at Dec. 31. (Editing by Will Waterman)