Embattled landlord Intu has agreed on an extension to its credit facilities with its lenders as long as it can raise at least £1.3bn of equity.
The landlord said the new £440m revolving credit facility (RCF), which will be provided by all seven of its existing banks, would replace its existing £660m facility that is scheduled to expire in October 2021, but was dependent on it raising £1.3bn in fresh equity.
This is the first time Intu has given a fundraising target and follows on from the news earlier this month that Hong Kong-based investment firm Link Real Estate had pulled out of a £1bn deal.
Following the news, Intu’s share price plummeted to just 13p – a tenth of where the group was trading a year ago.
Intu said it was working with its corporate brokers BofA Securities and UBS and financial adviser Rothschild on the equity raise and intends to update the market before it unveils its latest set of results, for the 2019 financial year, on March 5.
Intu chief executive Matthew Roberts said: “This extension of our RCF is a key milestone in addressing our near-term refinancing needs. It also underlines the continued support we have from our relationship banks. This revised RCF will extend the maturity profile and be used to provide general liquidity for Intu.
“Fixing the balance sheet remains our number one priority and we remain engaged with shareholders and potential new investors in relation to the intended equity raise.”
Analysts have speculated that a £1bn of equity would bring Intu’s overall loan to value ratio to around parity, from around 66% currently.
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