May 24 2024 11:00
JSE-listed retail landlord, Vukile, wants to buy UK mall owner, Capital & Regional.
Vukile on Thursday confirmed that it had submitted a non-binding proposal to the board of UK-based Capital & Regional for a possible cash and share offer for the company’s share capital, including issued and future-issued shares.
Vukile’s market capitalisation is around R16.4bn while Capital & Regional’s is R3.3bn.
Around 55% of Vukile’s annual income is earned from its Spanish malls while close to 45% is earned from its South African assets.
It is understood that Vukile sees value in buying exposure to UK retail centres. Capital & Regional owns malls in a number of UK towns.
Capital & Regional’s board also said this week that it is aware that its majority shareholder, Growthpoint Properties, which holds a 68.13% stake, has also received a preliminary expression of interest from NewRiver for the Capital & Regional stake.
NewRiver is a UK-based Reit with retail parks and shopping centres among others in its portfolio.
JSE-listed Growthpoint, South Africa’s largest property fund, acquired Capital & Regional in December 2019. Capital & Regional was heavily indebted at the point of the acquisition, but Growthpoint insisted that it was not paying too much for a controlling stake in the company.
247@propertyflash.co.za
