Tritax BigBox proposes placing to fund acquisition pipeline

FTSE 250-listed real estate investment trust Tritax Big Box has proposed a non pre-emptive placing to its institutional investors of more than 109m new ordinary shares in order to fund its acquisition pipeline and asset management initiatives.

Tritax aims to raise gross proceeds of approximately £155.6m via the placement, to be conducted through an accelerated book-building process with Jefferies International acting as its sole book-runner, in order to access a pipeline of potential investments "which significantly exceeds the targeted geared proceeds" of the placing.

In addition to the two specific target assets being eyed off by the firm, Tritax told investors on Tuesday that it had also identified several specific asset management initiatives within its existing portfolio that also required additional capital investment, including refurbishment work and building extensions at its existing sites.

The 109m new shares sold at a price of 142.25p each, which will rank pari passu with Tritax's existing shares, will represent approximately 8% of the group's issued share capital.

In its most recent trading year, Tritax acquired eleven new Big Box investments, including one pre-let forward funded development, with an aggregate purchase price of around £435m, along with 114 acres of prime London distribution development land for a total of £62.5m.

As of 0900 BST, shares had lost 1.79% to 143.88p.