May 28 2024 14:00
Vukile Property Fund has called off any attempt to take over secondary UK mall owner Capital & Regional.
Vukile which has exposure to malls in SA and Spain, made the surprise announcement a few days ago that they were considering taking over Capital & Regional. A deal would have spread their income sources further. But Vukile has been unable to come to any agreement with Growthpoint Properties, the landlord which owns a 68% majority stake in Capital & Regional.
"Shareholders are referred to the announcement made on 23 May 2024, in relation to a possible offer for Capital & Regional plc by Vukile, which was submitted to Capital & Regional on 19 April 2024. Vukile has engaged with Capital & Regional's largest shareholder, Growthpoint Properties, which controls approximately 68.1% of its share capital, to evaluate the potential terms and structure of a possible offer.
However, Vukile has not been able to reach agreement with Growthpoint as to the terms and structure of any possible offer and therefore confirms that it does not intend to make an offer under Rule 2.7 of the Code," Vukile said.
The lack of skin in the game for Capital & Regional's directors is also notable. Hutchings and Wetherly are both expected, by the board, to hold 200% times their annual salary in shares each. Yet, Hutchings' shareholding as a percentage of his annual salary is 11%, while Wetherly's respective number is 17%. The idea is that if directors hold shares in a property fund then the performance of the fund is aligned to their personal interests.
alistair@propertyflash.co.za
