Trading of shares suspended in REO

Trading of shares in Real Estate Opportunities (REO) which is controlled by Treasury Holdings, has been suspended, pending the outcome of Treasury’s legal challenge against Nama next month.

The move was a consequence of actions taken earlier in the week, when Treasury — which owns almost 51% of REO — went to the High Court to challenge a move by Nama to appoint receivers to a number of its Irish-based properties.

Treasury had until 4pm last Wednesday to repay loans to Nama, after which the agency said it would appoint receivers — PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young — to a number of its properties.

That move was effectively halted by Treasury challenging it in the High Court and REO’s London share listing will now be suspended until Feb 21.

A receiver has been appointed to nine REO subsidiaries. In its most recent trading update, REO said activity levels in its Irish-based investment portfolio remained high in the final months of 2011, but conditions are likely to remain challenging “against the background of continued economic uncertainty and dysfunctional financial markets”.