Tesco offering rice with a slice of real estate

Tesco, best known as the UK’s leading mid-market grocer, has signalled its entry in the Asian real estate fund market with the launch of a Thai property vehicle that has raised about $600 million.   The Tesco Lotus Retail Growth Freehold and Leasehold Property Fund launched last week as a closed-ended vehicle on the Securities Stock Exchange of Thailand. It raised Bt18.4 billion ($602 million) on its debut, making it the country’s biggest listing since 2006 and the largest real es…