LXi REIT taps investors for £75m to fund acquisitions

The real estate investment trust said it would place about 56.4 million new shares with investors at 133p each - a 2.3% premium to its estimated asset value and 7.9% less than the closing price on 23 June. The company will also offer shares to its retail investors.

LXi said its investment advisor had found £125m of investments, most of which were sourced off market through contacts and relationships. The planned investments include a group of nursery schools with new 30-year inflation-linked leases and special education day schools with 35-year inflation-linked leases and government-linked income.

The FTSE 250 group also intends to buy long-lease grocery assets pre-let to Lidl, the Co-Op and Sainsbury's and some drive-through coffee sites.

Stephen Hubbard, LXi's chairman, said: "This placing will enable the company to capitalise on a near term pipeline of sale and leaseback and other long income, forward funding opportunities. The properties in the pipeline are diversified across a range of defensive and structurally supported sub-sectors and let to high-quality tenant covenants."

The group said its property portfolio was valued by an independent valuer at £1.08bn on 1 June, reflecting a 4.7% net initial yield. All subsectors rose in value since the end of March with industrial and logistics making the biggest gains. Recent purchases have risen by an average of 9%.

LXi's shares fell 4.6% to 136.4p at 09:28 BST. The shares have gained almost 20% in the past year and hit a record high of 148p on 14 June.