LondonMetric Property has raised £120m from a share sale, a fifth more than the target it set when the deal was announced.
The company said it had seen an “exceptional level of demand” from new and existing investors, letting it increase the size of the issuance from £100m.
Chief executive Andrew Jones said: “We are extremely grateful to our shareholders and to new investors for their strong support and the exceptional level of demand for this capital raise. The funds raised will allow us to execute on our quality pipeline of deals and opportunities as we continue to further strengthen our portfolio’s long term income characteristics.”
The company sold 66,666,666 new shares, or 7.9% of its issued share capital prior to the deal, at 180p per share. JP Morgan and Peel Hunt ran the deal.
When the deal was announced this morning, LondonMetric said it expected to spend the proceeds in the next three months. The company is lining up several projects, including the purchase of a £60m portfolio that features a sale-and-leaseback agreement with an online operator. A further £10m is likely to be spent on a London sale-and-leaseback portfolio, while £30m is earmarked for various other purchases under discussion.
“These uncertain times are starting to give rise to quality investment opportunities that are seldom available in a normalised market,” Jones said. “Through our occupier relationships we have identified some excellent assets, at attractive pricing, which would further strengthen our portfolio’s long-term income characteristics. Not only do we expect to see further opportunities arise but also we expect the pitch to be much less crowded than before.”
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