Liberty International, the UK listed property firm, has turned to Morgan Stanley to manage its £159m (€249m) equity sale, although its brokers are UBS Warburg and Merrill Lynch.

Morgan Stanley does have an existing relationship with Liberty. In 1994, the bank was co-lead manager in the syndicate that managed the initial public offering of the UK's Capital Shopping Centres, which is owned by Liberty. The bookrunners on that deal were Robert Fleming and UBS.