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West End landlord Shaftesbury today tapped the City for £149.1 million to fund a regeneration project in the heart of Soho.
The firm launched a rights issue at 175p a share so it can buy buildings in Berwick Street and create a new and vibrant "village" like those it owns in Carnaby Street, Chinatown and Covent Garden.
It could change the face of Berwick Street, famed for its market, a host of ailing record stores and its brothels.
Soho has been seeing big changes in the past decade as developers like the Paul Raymond property empire invest to bring it more upmarket.
Shaftesbury has bought 18 Berwick Street properties worth £27.7 million in recent months and plans to add to its holding.
"We are very excited about the potential for Berwick Street," said chief executive Jonathan Lane. "Current ownership is fragmented, the pavements are in a bad way and buildings are under-utilised."
Parts of the street are run-down, and Shaftesbury hopes to attract new cafés, bars and restaurants as well as trendy boutique fashion stores and independent shopkeepers.
It hopes to capture some of the buzz found elsewhere on its estate and on nearby Wardour Street, though it admits this will take time.
Shaftesbury posted losses of £159.8 million in the half year to March against losses of £93.6 million in the same period last year.
