EPP to expand war chest in Warsaw

Polish property owner Echo Polska Properties (EPP) has raised about R2.2bn in an oversubscribed book-build as it looks to roll out retail expansion plans in Warsaw.

“The capital will be used for previously announced acquisitions, including our Mlociny and Towarowa developments in Warsaw,” said CEO Hadley Dean.

Given the strong demand, the amount of capital raised had been increased to about R2.2bn by placing 118,918,918 new shares at R18.50 a share, Dean said. The company had planned to raise R1.65bn.

EPP has dual primary listings on the JSE and the Euro MTF market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE).

Subject to approval by the JSE and the LuxSE, listing and trading of the new EPP shares on the JSE and LuxSE was expected to begin at the start of trade on April 13. After the issue of the new EPP shares, the company would have 704,970,210 shares in issue.

EPP had €1.6bn in assets and was present in most big Polish cities. It owned 15 shopping centres and nine office parks in 17 Polish cities, said Dean.

EPP announced in March it had agreed to acquire a 70% stake in Galeria Mlociny in Warsaw for €29m from Rosehill Investments. The deal gives EPP exposure to the lucrative Warsaw retail market.

“The Polish retail property market is underpinned by very strong sales growth which is supported by robust consumer spending and the government’s well-received social-grants programme, which provides support to families with more than one child,” he said.

“Ultimately our success has come down to a growing and hard-working property management team and to our ability to operate in a market which is eager for investment. Poland is a fast-developing market open to investment. EPP’s vision is to be a reliable, top-performing real estate company. We remain committed to this goal.”