Equites Property Fund has raised more than R700m in an accelerated bookbuild and will use the proceeds for its piepeline of development opportunities.
The company said on Tuesday its will issue about 41.3-million new Equites shares at a price of R17.25 per share, raising R712.4m.
The issue price is a 1.32% discount to the 30-day volume weighted average price per Equites share of R17.48. The book was oversubscribed at that level, it said.
On Monday the group said in a trading update that a company it co-owns with Tridevco recently concluded a 10-year lease on a 90,000m² facility for Tiger Brands in Riverfields, Gauteng, at a net initial yield of 9% on a development cost of about R1bn.
The group has also been awarded a tender for a global third-party logistics organisation for the development of a 24,000m² facility in Gauteng at a cost of about R300,000 and has been given the go-ahead to extend the Premier FMCG facility at Lords View, Gauteng, by 7,000m².
Equites is also in the process of negotiating approximately 150,000m² of new developments for a value of about R2bn.
Equites said it remained committed to exiting its investments in the UK.
“While the group had targeted the disposal of the majority of its UK income-producing assets by the end of financial year 2026, its foremost commitment is to maximise value for shareholders. Accordingly, the timing of the disposal will remain subject to achieving an outcome aligned with this objective,” it said.
Its remaining investments in the UK include Newport Pagnell, which is expected to reach practical completion imminently, and Coton Park, a 23,225m² development that is being forward-funded by JD.com and which is on track for completion in September 2026.
It said it remained committed to finding a suitable funder for Basingstoke in order for it to exit this scheme, and DHL Leeds was currently in rent review, and the group would seek offers once that process had been completed. The Aviva portfolio of income-producing assets is for sale.
The group said it was on track to achieve a full-year dividend per share of between 140c and 143c.
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