Equites Property bookbuild rakes in R710m
Equites Property Fund, the only specialised industrial realestate owner listed on the JSE, has raised about R710m in capital, cementing the market’s confidence in the stock.
The money was raised through an accelerated bookbuild that was strongly oversubscribed as Equites had initially wanted to raise R500m. Analysts said this successful bookbuild could signal that more capital raises will take place this year in the listed property sector.
Stanlib head of listed property funds Keillen Ndlovu said Equites owned logistics assets and distribution warehouses, which had performed well in SA and the UK.
“It makes sense that investors wanted to be part of Equites’s bookbuild. They are a well-run company operating in a very hot sector. Any fund which owns high-quality logistics like Equites is set to attract capital in SA.”
THEY ARE A WELLRUN COMPANY OPERATING IN A HOT SECTOR. ANY FUND THAT OWNS HIGHQUALITY LOGISTICS IS SET TO ATTRACT CAPITAL IN SA
Logistics assets were being supported by growing online retail sales globally, Ndlovu said. Equites has expanded its assets from R1bn at listing in June 2014 to more than R10bn. The company achieved an annualised total return of 24.8% each year, according to Ndlovu.
“They have delivered doubledigit dividend growth and have been successful in SA and the UK,” he said.
Andrea Taverna-Turisan, CEO of Equites, said the capital raised through the bookbuild would be placed into the fund’s facilities, helping to ease its loanto-value position. It could then be used for future acquisitions.
Nesi Chetty, head of listed property at MMI Investments, said activity was returning to the listed property sector.
“I think this is the start of more bookbuilds for our sector. I’d expect logistics asset owners as well as owners of offshore property to go to market, but also some diversified funds will look to raise capital this year,” he said. Ndlovu said that in 2018 only R6bn had been raised by listed property funds, while R40bn was secured in 2017.