Acquisition of Burlington Real Estate

RNS Number : 7534E

Gresham House PLC

15 March 2022

 

15 March 2022

Gresham House plc

("Gresham House", the "Company" or the "Group")

Acquisition of Burlington Real Estate further enhancing our presence in Ireland

Gresham House (AIM: GHE), the specialist alternative asset manager, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Burlington RE Property Management Limited ("Burlington Real Estate"), one of Ireland's premier independent commercial property asset and development management companies, for an initial consideration of €1.8 million (the "Acquisition").

 

Based in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Burlington Real Estate was established in 2012 by John Bruder and Niall Kavanagh, who together have 60 years' combined experience in the Irish property industry. Burlington Real Estate has had a successful strategic partnership with Gresham House Ireland (formerly Appian Asset Management) for over five years, as Investment Advisor to the MSCI award-winning Appian Burlington Property Fund which invests in office, retail and industrial properties in the greater Dublin area and major regional urban centres. Burlington Real Estate manages or advises assets of €340 million as at 31 December 2021, which will bring pro forma assets managed or advised by Gresham House in Ireland to c.€750 million as at 31 December 2021.

The Acquisition forms part of Gresham House's ongoing international expansion plans, as set out in its five-year strategy GH25 and is the Group's second acquisition in Ireland, following the completion of the Appian Asset Management transaction last summer. It consolidates the existing relationship between our two businesses to achieve long-term alignment and is expected to be earnings enhancing for the Group with potential further value creation through synergies and identified growth initiatives.

The Burlington Real Estate team will become part of the Gresham House Group going forward, and its 14 employees, including John Bruder and Niall Kavanagh, will join Gresham House's wider Real Estate activities in Ireland. Burlington Real Estate will remain the advisor to the Appian Burlington Property Fund and the recently launched Gresham House Credit Union Income Fund which invests in social housing in Ireland.

There will be no change to current operations within Burlington Real Estate, and we expect a seamless transition for Burlington Real Estate's clients. Looking ahead we anticipate the broader suite of products and opportunities available across the Gresham House platform may be of interest to some clients and thereby an opportunity to drive further growth and enhancement of value for our business in Ireland.

Patrick Lawless, Managing Director, Gresham House Ireland commented:

"Having worked closely with John and the team at Burlington Real Estate for over five years in their capacity as Advisor to our property fund, we see a strong cultural fit with the Gresham House Group and our ambitions in Ireland."

The initial consideration of €1.8 million will be paid by the Group to the sellers of Burlington (the "Sellers"). In addition, the Sellers have agreed to subscribe for 73,177 new ordinary shares of 25p each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares"), in aggregate, (the "Subscription Shares") at a price of £8.42 per Subscription Share. The Subscription Shares will be subject to the terms of a lock-in deed that will, subject to certain exceptions, restrict dealing in the Subscription Shares.

An application will be made to London Stock Exchange plc for the Subscription Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. The Subscription Shares will be issued credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions (if any) declared, made or paid on or in respect of such shares after the date of their issue.

It is expected that admission of the Subscription Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission") will become effective and that dealings in the Subscription Shares will commence on AIM at 8.00am on 21 March 2022.

Following Admission, the Company will have a total of 38,073,996 Ordinary Shares in issue. With effect from Admission, this figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in the Company, under the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.

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Gresham House plc Tony Dalwood, Chief Executive Kevin Acton, Chief Financial Officer	[phone]
Houston Alexander Clelland Kay Larsen Gordon MRM Ray Gordon	[e-mail] [phone] [e-mail] 00 353 87 2417373
Canaccord Genuity Limited - Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Bobbie Hilliam Georgina McCooke	[phone]
Jefferies International Limited - Financial Adviser and Joint Broker Paul Nicholls Max Jones	[phone]

 

This announcement does not constitute an offer to buy, acquire or subscribe for (or the solicitation of an offer to buy, acquire or subscribe for), Ordinary Shares or an offer to buy, acquire or subscribe for (or the solicitation of an offer to buy, acquire or subscribe for), the Subscription Shares.

This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "plans", "projects", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", or "should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this announcement and include statements regarding the Directors' current intentions, beliefs or expectations concerning, among other things, the Group's results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies, and the Group's markets.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. Actual results and developments could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. Any forward-looking statements in this announcement are based on certain factors and assumptions, including the Directors' current view with respect to future events and are subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Group's operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. Whilst the Directors consider these assumptions to be reasonable based upon information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. Save as required by law or by the AIM Rules for Companies, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to any forward-looking statements in this announcement that may occur due to any change in the Directors' expectations or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement.

About Gresham House

Gresham House is a specialist alternative asset management group, dedicated to sustainable investments across a range of strategies, with expertise across forestry, housing, infrastructure, renewable energy and battery storage, public and private equity.

Our origins stretch back to 1857, while our focus is on the future and the long term. Quoted on the London Stock Exchange (GHE:LN) we actively manage c.£6.5bn of assets (as at 31 December 2021) on behalf of institutions, family offices, charities and endowments, private individuals, and their advisers. We act responsibly within a culture of empowerment that encourages individual flair and entrepreneurial thinking.

As a signatory to the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), our vision is to always make a positive social or environmental impact, while delivering on our commitments to shareholders, employees and investors.

About Gresham House Ireland

Gresham House Ireland was originally established in December 2002 as Appian Asset Management and rebranded following its acquisition by Gresham House plc in June 2021. Gresham House Ireland is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland under the Alternative Investment Fund Management Directive (AIFMD) and has €393mn (£330mn) in AUM (as at 31 December 2021). Gresham House Ireland is the manager of five funds which invest globally across traditional and alternative asset classes including equities, property, infrastructure, commodities, and forestry.

www.greshamhouse.com  

www.greshamhouse.ie  

 

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