Shopping centre owner plans to fund growth with £67m placing
RETAIL REIT NewRiver, which owns several shopping centres in the West Midlands, has announced plans for a £67m share placing to help fund new acquisition opportunities.
The firm, which owns centres in Erdington and Leamington Spa, said the funding could also be used for joint ventures and co-investments.
NewRiver shareholders are being asked to approve the plan at a general meeting scheduled for July 10.
The company has built a substantial portfolio of assets in the period since flotation in September 2009. NewRiver now owns or manages 23 shopping centres and other town centre assets with a current capital value of around £400m, making it the fourth largest owner and operator in the UK by number of retail assets over 50,000ft².
David Lockhart, Chief Executive of NewRiver Retail, said: “In the four years since IPO, NewRiver has built a diverse, high quality and higher yielding portfolio of income generating assets. Our proven investment strategy focused on driving income returns and enhancing value through active asset management and risk-controlled development has also led NewRiver to its third consecutive year of growth.
“Retail is a dynamic sector that is pivotal to the UK economy and provides considerable opportunities for growth. The Directors believe that NewRiver is well-positioned to take advantage of current favourable market conditions and is taking the opportunity to raise further equity for investment to enlarge the asset base and increase long term shareholder value.”
The board said it believed NewRiver had invested well and created a good platform for expansion and the timing was now right for NewRiver to take advantage of favourable retail real estate market conditions and raise further equity for investment.
Audited results for the 12 months ended March 31, 2013 show group revenue increased by 20% to £18m, adjusted profits increased 7% to £5.2m and dividends per share increased 7% to 16p.
