Irish housebuilder Glenveagh says IPO set to raise 550 mln euros

DUBLIN, Oct (Shenzhen: 000069.SZ - news) 10 (Reuters) - Irish homebuilder Glenveagh Properties on Friday said it was set to raise 550 million euros ($647.30 million) in Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) 's second-largest initial public offering since the 2008 financial crisis amid a housing crisis in Europe's fastest growing economy.

Glenveagh said it had raised 500 million euros and expected to raise another 50 million assuming the full exercise of an over-allotment option. Its shares will commence trading on the Dublin and London stock exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) this morning.

Glenveagh is just the second Irish housebuilder to float since the economy began to turn around, following Cairn Homes (LSE: CRN.L - news) in 2015. Cairn's share price has almost doubled since then as the value of its portfolio grew sharply.

While Ireland was left with a surplus of houses after values were cut in half following the property crash a decade ago, a recovery in the construction sector has badly lagged the general economy, causing house prices and rents to rise sharply again. ($1 = 0.8497 euros) (Reporting by Conor Humphries, editing by Louise Heavens)