Shaftesbury taps shareholders for £297m to help it ride out the coronavirus crisis
London landlord Shaftesbury is looking to tap shareholders for nearly £300 million to shore up its balance sheet during the coronavirus crisis.
The company, which owns swathes of Chinatown and Carnaby Street in the West End, wants to raise £297 million via a share placing with existing investors.
The funds would help Shaftesbury to reduce debts, boost financial headroom while rental income is under pressure during the pandemic, and enable it to keep investing its property portfolio.
Brian Bickell, chief executive of Shaftesbury, said the capital raise “will ensure the group maintains the financial flexibility and resources to navigate the unprecedented near-term operational challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and that we will be well-placed to benefit from the gradual return to more-normal patterns of life and activity that have always made London's West End an unrivalled global destination”.
Like rivals, the landlord has been hurt by the pandemic. At the start of lockdown firms had to shut shops and bars, impacting the ability of some tenants to pay rent.
Occupiers have been allowed to reopen, but footfall in central London remains weak as travel restrictions keep tourists and office workers away from town.
Shaftesbury has agreed packages of support for businesses that are struggling, such as rent waivers, deferrals and lease restructures.
JP Morgan and Liberum are advising on the capital raise, which the two largest shareholders in Shaftesbury, Capco and Norges, have agreed to participate in. In addition retail investors will be able to buy up to £10 million of shares.
Covent Garden landlord Capital & Counties (Capco) in June agreed a surprise £436 million purchase of property tycoon Samuel Tak Lee’s stake in neighbouring firm Shaftesbury.
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