NewRiver Retail raises £75m to fund shopping mall deal

Shopping mall investor NewRiver Retail is raising up to £75m in a share placing to fund its £71m purchase of the remaining 90% of a shopping centre joint venture from LVS Luxembourg.

NewRiver plans to use the cash from the placing to finance the acquisition of a portfolio comprising five shopping centres and a single high street asset with a net let-able area of about one million square feet across more than 200 tenancies with an average lease length outstanding of 7.2 years.

"Since NewRiver's acquisition of its initial 10% interest in 2012, the assets have performed well and have benefited from the company's active asset management. Looking forward, the assets present a range of significant further opportunities to enhance value," the group said.

NewRiver also said it would pay a third quarterly dividend for the current year of a further 4.25p per share on 30 January.

Liberum Capital is acting as sole bookrunner and will be sole underwriter in relation to the placing.

Shares in NewRiver fell 2.5p or 0.8% to 297.5p at 09:53 in London.