The sale through an off-market, accelerated book-building initially sought to raise R500m and was increased due to strong demand. Even at R1bn, it was oversubscribed, Taverna-Turisan says from Cape Town. The firm could have raised more money but prefers to avoid the risk of “cash drag” caused by having too much undeployed capital on the balance sheet, he adds.
Equites is a specialist logistics real estate investment trust (REIT) listed in Johannesburg. Tenants in South Africa include Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Imperial Logistics and Nestlé. The firm has been seeking ways to diversify away from the South African market and is betting that the rise of e-commerce will mean increased demand for warehouse space in the UK.
At R12.8bn, the value of the South African portfolio is nearly double the R6.5bn value of the UK holdings. Taverna-Turisan expects that the two portfolios will be of roughly
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