Credit Suisse in line for GDI Property Group play INVESTMENT bank Credit Suisse is believed to have been appointed by the GDI Property Group to float a new company on the Australian Securities Exchange that could own more than $400 million worth of office buildings. The Sydney-based property syndicator and the investment bank did not return telephone calls yesterday. However, The Australian flagged in May that GDI, chaired by Tony Veale and run by Steve Gillard, was in the early stages of considering a float. Yesterday, sources said the company was working with Credit Suisse to list a trust that would comprise four buildings, including a $120m Brisbane office tower at 307 Queen Street, which the group is in due diligence to buy. It could also include GDI's commercial building at 1 Adelaide Terrace in Perth, which it bought last year for more than $100m, and other offices worth at least $225m in the West Australian capital. Should the company's plans for a float early next year proceed, it will add to at least $1 billion worth of real estate initial public offerings being worked on by investment bankers. Among them is the APN Property Group's mooted $385m listed industrial trust, which will comprise 21 warehouses and business parks, including properties from the group's recently purchased $215m Australand Wholesale Property Fund No 6. Banks involved in the APN float are Macquarie Capital, UBS, National Australia Bank, RBS Morgans and ANZ, and the product disclosure statement would likely be lodged in almost two weeks, sources said. Others are Fife Capital's $180m Australian Industrial REIT, which is due to list on October 21, with involvement by UBS, NAB and the CBA, the backdoor listing of a new $340m industrial fund by 360 Capital through Trafalgar Corporate, and Investec's listing in South Africa of a trust that includes $100m worth of industrial properties it purchased from Lang Walker. In the hospitality arena, Riversdale, which is backed by high-profile investors John Singleton, Mark Carnegie and Geoff Dixon, is tipped to be moving to float a company that could include up to $500m worth of pubs and marinas, while speculation in the market suggests that Redcape may float its $400m pub business on the stock exchange. Despite the unsuccessful attempts by other groups to list real estate companies this year, including Centuria's vehicle seeded by a $330m North Sydney building and US multi-family housing owner Domus, analysts said there was demand for good quality, newly listed REITs at the right price. Morgan Stanley's Arena Investment Management this year successfully listed its $228m childcare portfolio, with the fund now trading at $1.17, compared to its $1 issue price.