Debt Facility

RNS Number : 4240M

Ediston Property Inv Comp PLC

07 May 2015

 

Ediston Property Investment Company plc

(the "Company")

7 May 2015

Debt Facility

Debt Facility

Ediston Property Investment Company plc (LSE: EPIC) announces that EPIC (No.1) Limited, a wholly- owned subsidiary of the Company, has entered into a ten-year, £40 million secured term loan agreement with Aviva Commercial Finance Limited.  The loan has been fixed at an interest rate of 3.09 per cent for the period of the loan as long as the loan-to-value ratio is maintained below 40%.

The loan is secured over the Company's existing property portfolio including the recently purchased property in Bath.  The capital raised will be sufficient to fund the remainder of the current acquisition pipeline that was referred to in the March 2015 NAV statement, with a small amount of cash left over.

The facility agreement includes terms that are typical for a facility of this nature, including loan to value and interest cover ratio covenants and the ability to substitute properties in the security pool.

Following drawdown of the facility and assuming the deployment of the funds to the acquisitions noted above, the Company's gearing will stand at approximately 29 per cent of its gross assets, which is in line with the stated target gearing level of 30 per cent of gross assets.

Commenting on the transaction, William Hill, Chairman of the Company, said: "Putting in place this debt facility and providing the means to expand the portfolio was a key part of the strategy we stated at the time the Company was floated. The Board considered several financing options but considered a long-term partnership with Aviva was the most attractive together with the ability to fix the interest for ten years at a rate accretive to the Company's dividend.

"On completion of the pending acquisitions the Board will be turning its attention to the next phase of the Company's strategy by looking at the opportunities to grow its equity base." 

Contacts

Canaccord Genuity Limited                                                        020 7523 8000

Will Barnett                      

David Yovichic  

Ediston Properties Limited (Investment Adviser)            0131 225 5599

Calum Bruce                     

Danny O'Neill                  

R&H Fund Services Limited (Company Secretary)             0131 524 6140

Martin Cassels                 

Tavistock                                                                                             020 7920 3150

James Whitmore

Jeremy Carey

Notes to Editors

Ediston Property Investment Company plc is a UK real estate investment trust (REIT) with a listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. The Company launched in October 2014 with the acquisition of an initial £76.7m diversified portfolio of UK commercial properties. It invests in UK commercial real estate assets to achieve its objective of providing its shareholders with an attractive level of income together with the potential for capital and income growth. It seeks to acquire assets which offer a secure income stream, with unexpired terms in line with the market average, secured against good covenants. It will typically target assets which have a net initial yield in excess of 6.5 per cent.

 

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