Company update

RNS Number : 4914A

Ediston Property Inv Comp PLC

08 June 2016

 

Ediston Property Investment Company plc

("EPIC" or, the "Company")

COMPANY UPDATE

The Board of Ediston Property Investment Company (LSE: EPIC), the specialist property investment company, is pleased to announce that it has been granted admission to the FTSE-All Share Index with effect from 17 June 2016.

The Company has had a share placing programme in place since 22 June 2015, pursuant to which it has issued approximately 33.3 million new ordinary shares.  The Company has now invested all of its initial equity proceeds from launch in October 2014, the proceeds of the placing programme and approximately £52 million of term debt, while holding approximately £10 million of capital for asset management initiatives and normal working capital requirements.

The Company's portfolio of 13 assets was valued at £181 million as at 31 March 2016.  It is expected that the Company's current annual dividend rate of 5.5p per share will be fully covered by net income, in Q2 2016.  Since inception, the Company has also made good progress in terms of net asset value ("NAV"), despite the costs of making property investments, rising from an initial NAV per share of 96.15p in November 2014 to the most recent NAV per share of 107.21p at 31 March 2016.

The Board of EPIC has decided to renew the share placing programme for a further 12 months, shortly after the existing programme expires on 22 June 2016, and intends to publish a prospectus in connection therewith in due course. As before, any new shares issued under the authority will be at a premium to NAV per share and at a price sufficient to cover the direct costs of issue. The Company will, if necessary, ask shareholders for new pre-emptive authorities once the existing authority has been exhausted.

The Board is aware that there are a number of uncertainties surrounding the market at this time, including the EU referendum, which could impact on share prices for all listed stocks, including property investment companies. However, it remains the view of the Board that the Manager, Ediston Properties Limited, is well positioned to identify attractive property acquisition opportunities which fit with the investment strategy of the Company and the style of its Manager i.e. to acquire assets which can benefit from active management initiatives to improve income and capital values.  The existing portfolio should continue to benefit from this approach, but if it proves possible to raise further equity, and to gear it appropriately, the Board believes that the Company will be able to diversify its portfolio further through the acquisition of properties which should be accretive to net asset value.

The Company's broker, Canaccord Genuity, is actively engaged in the long-term marketing of the Company, with the assistance of the Manager, and supports the Company's initiative to issue new shares when market conditions permit and when demand can be found from existing shareholders and new investors.

Contacts

Canaccord Genuity Limited                                                         020 7523 8000

David Yovichic  

Robbie Robertson

Will Barnett

Neil Brierley                     

Ediston Properties Limited (Investment Manager)          0131 225 5599

Calum Bruce                     

Danny O'Neill                  

R&H Fund Services Limited (Company Secretary)             0131 550 3758

Gordon Humphries                        

Tavistock                                                                                             020 7920 3150

James Whitmore

Jeremy Carey

 

END

 

 

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