Equites raises R558m in debt auction

JSE-listed real estate investment trust (Reit), Equites Property Fund has raised R558-million through the public auction of three-year and five-year listed senior unsecured floating rate notes in the South African debt capital market.

Equites raised R188-million in a three-year note maturing November 2027 and R370-million in a five-year note maturing November 14, 2029.

The Reit says both notes cleared at the bottom of the price guidance that was distributed to the market prior to the auction.

EQT022, the three-year note, cleared at 110 basis points over three-month Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate (Jibar), and EQT023, the five-year note, cleared at 125 basis points over three-month Jibar.

Equites says these are the lowest levels at which it has raised listed debt funding since inception in 2014.

It notes that the auction was well supported by leading financial institutions. In total, bids of R1.7-billion were received, resulting in an oversubscription on issuance volume of three times.

In achieving the tightest spreads for listed debt in the South African real estate sector, Equites says it has been able to benefit from a momentum swing towards property, particularly the logistics sector, given the high-quality South Africa and UK portfolio of the company with near-zero vacancies and a weighted average lease expiry over 14 years.

“The outstanding results of this debt auction clearly illustrate the deep support Equites receives from South African financial institutions due to the strength of Equites’ balance sheet underpinned by the R28-billion of high-grade logistics facilities which Equites develops for, and leases to, world-class tenants,” says Equites treasurer and head of risk management Warren Douglas.