Approval for listed Reit’s £88m raise to fund deal

A London-listed real estate investment trust that operates from Edinburgh has received shareholder approval regarding a £144 million portfolio acquisition.

Ediston Property Investment Company (Epic) is taking on four retail warehouse parks from Stadium Group in a deal that will see its property portfolio grow to about £318m.

To fund the deal, Epic is issuing new equity with a value of about £88.7m, including £52.2m from its share issue, steps that have now received shareholder approval. The sites comprise one in Wales and three in England. Chairman William Hill commented that the acquisition “will increase the group’s exposure to the retail warehouse sector, which the board and manager consider to offer attractive value relative to other sectors within the property market”.

He also said the deal will “introduce further assetmanagement angles to exploit, which should enhance returns to shareholders” and boost the firm’s dividend cover.