Elite Commercial Reit secures £135 million debt facilities
Elite Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) has obtained a committed offer for debt facilities of up to £135 million (S$229.7 million) from a group of financial institutions.
At a three-term, the new credit facilities will help the Reit to efficiently manage its working capital, said the manager on Monday (Mar 4).
It noted that the funds obtained will be used to refinance the Reit’s existing loan facilities, among other things.
Joshua Liaw, chief executive of the manager, noted that securing the credit facilities shows strong relationships with banking partners.
The manager said the offer came from new lending relationships that the manager sourced through the Reit’s sponsor.
Liaw said that the refinancing exercise will allow the Reit to reinforce its capital structure and maximise unitholder returns through asset repositioning strategies. This entails divestments and repurposing vacant assets to unlock latent value in its real estate portfolio.
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
“Early negotiations on tenant retention and lease expiry diversification are also in progress,” he added.
The manager said that post the £28 million preferential offering concluded on Jan 18, the Reit’s net gearing was lowered to 40.9 per cent from 2023-end 47.5 per cent.
As at Dec 31, 2023, about 66 per cent of its borrowings were hedged on fixed interest rates and the interest coverage ratio stood at 3.1 times.
The counter of Elite Commercial Reit : MXNU 0% closed Friday flat at £0.25.
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Companies & Markets
Carnival’s Princess brand revises 2025 world cruise routes amid Red Sea tensions
Google to pay up to US$6 million to News Corp for new AI content, The Information reports
Restaurant Brands tops estimates as Burger King overhaul pays off
Yen falls after suspected intervention on Monday; eyes on Fed
US: Wall St opens lower on labour costs data
TikTok shop tops 500,000 US sellers after 2023 e-commerce launch