A cornerstone investor in Kiwi Income Property Trust will be keeping a close eye on what happens to a Wellington office building the trust just sold.

Kiwi Income’s divestment of the BP House for $26.3 million to a private investor, Paul Benjamin, raised the ire of property magnate Sir Bob Jones (NBR print edition, April 10).

Sir Bob says he would have paid millions more for the building if he had been given the chance to bid, but he wasn’t presented with that opportunity.

The huge Fletcher Building cash-raising failed to depress the New Zealand sharemarket on Thursday, as it put on a late run to close with respectable gains.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed up 16.562 points, or 0.6 percent, at 2585.80, turning around a weak opening as the Australian market also strengthened.

Turnover was worth a healthy $112.38 million. There were 44 rises and 26 falls.