RESIDENTIAL property group Grainger has ended its fundraising drive for its investment fund, G:Res1, after total third party investment reached almost £160m.

Newcastle-based Grainger said its stake in the fund had dropped to 21.63 per cent after the Mitsubishi Corporation bought a £15m stake yesterday.

However, the group said it was eyeing further acquisitions for G:Res1 and could restart fundraising later, after reporting its purchase of the Ability Group earlier this year for £205m had significantly increased the fund.

After its launch last November with a portfolio of 1,400 properties, it now has almost 2,100 - 90 per cent of which are in London and the South-East. In March, it acquired the 700-unit Ability portfolio.

G:Res1, the UK's largest market-rented residential investment fund, now has a total property investment of £435m.

The Mitsubishi Corporation is the latest of high-profile third party firms to invest in the fund, alongside British Airways Pensions Fund and Norsk Hydro.

Rupert Dickinson, chief executive of Grainger, said the group was delighted with the success of the fundraising over a relatively short period of time.

Quinton Hill-Lines, Grainger's managing director of fund management, said: "Having come very close to our strategic hold level of 20 per cent, we are very happy to draw this capital raising process to a successful close.

"However, we are currently looking at a number of interesting acquisition opportunities for the fund which may result in a further capital raising process in the latter part of this year or the early part of next."