Intu confirms new equity raise next month
Intu has confirmed that it is targeting an equity raise at the end of February following reports that the shopping centre landlord is seeking £1bn of emergency cash.
In a trading update in November last year, intu said raising equity was “likely to form part of the solution” in dealing with its liquidity requirements.
The company’s loan-to-value ratio stood at 57.7% – still some way off from its sub-50% target – and £926m of the company’s £4.7bn debt pile will mature in 2021.
Intu has confirmed that it is targeting an equity raise at the end of February following reports that the shopping centre landlord is seeking £1bn of emergency cash.
In a trading update in November last year, intu said raising equity was “likely to form part of the solution” in dealing with its liquidity requirements.
The company’s loan-to-value ratio stood at 57.7% – still some way off from its sub-50% target – and £926m of the company’s £4.7bn debt pile will mature in 2021.
Now, intu has confirmed that it is “currently engaged in constructive discussions” with shareholders and “potential new investors” on the equity raise.
The landlord has also been disposing of assets to improve its balance sheet. In December, the company announced it had sold Spanish mall Puerto Venecia for €475m, of which intu’s share of the proceeds was €238m, and in total, nearly £500m of disposals were made over the course of last year.
Negotiations for the disposal of intu Asturias in northern Spain are at an advanced stage.
Chief executive Matthew Roberts said: “We have delivered a robust operational performance for 2019, finishing with a busy Christmas trading period. Total footfall in 2019 was 0.3% ahead of 2018, flat in the UK which significantly outperformed the Springboard footfall monitor for shopping centres.
“Occupancy was stable at 95% and to date 97% of rent has been collected for the first quarter of 2020, demonstrating the lower risk of our existing customer base.
“We are making good progress with fixing the balance sheet, our number one priority, and are confident we have the right strategy in place to enable us to prosper as we see continued polarisation between the best destinations and the rest.”
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