Warehouse REIT launches £175m fund raise
Warehouse REIT is launching a £175m share sale to help it take advantage of a pipeline of investments valued at £346m.
The move comes after the REIT scrapped a planned equity raise as the coronavirus pandemic spread.
The last-mile logistics investor is already in exclusive or final negotiations over £123m of acquisitions and has solicitors instructed on a further £223m. Several of the planned acquisitions have an e-commerce focus, the company said, adding: “Demand for warehouse space is coming from an increasingly diversified occupier base, many of which are businesses responding to structural changes in their markets driven by the growth in e-commerce – the current Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the acceleration in this trend.”
Warehouse REIT is launching a £175m share sale to help it take advantage of a pipeline of investments valued at £346m.
The move comes after the REIT scrapped a planned equity raise as the coronavirus pandemic spread.
The last-mile logistics investor is already in exclusive or final negotiations over £123m of acquisitions and has solicitors instructed on a further £223m. Several of the planned acquisitions have an e-commerce focus, the company said, adding: “Demand for warehouse space is coming from an increasingly diversified occupier base, many of which are businesses responding to structural changes in their markets driven by the growth in e-commerce – the current Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the acceleration in this trend.”
Chairman Neil Kirton said: “The motivated pool of sellers we witnessed earlier in the year has expanded as a result of recent market uncertainty, resulting in acquisition opportunities at attractive entry levels and supporting our view that now is the right time to deliver on our stated strategy of significantly scaling the REIT.”
The deal, run by Peel Hunt and RBC Capital Markets, will see the REIT issue more than 159,000,000 new shares, partially through an accelerated bookbuild. The issue price is 110p per share, a premium of 0.5% to the REIT’s NAV at the end of March.
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