Shares began trading in M7’s Regional E-Warehouse REIT on IPSX this morning.
The listing on the new platform, which seeks to democratise real estate, is the second for the M7 team, which floated its Mailbox REIT on the IPSX in May.
Plans for this second listing were first announced in September.
E-Warehouse REIT starts trading with a £110.7m portfolio of 17 assets located across the UK, all of which currently trade as retail warehouses. The portfolio extends to 911,641 sq ft and is let to 54 occupiers, including Matalan, Go Outdoors, Odeon, B&M, B&Q and Homebase. It has a weighted average unexpired lease term of 6.3 years.
The portfolio was assembled on behalf of M7 REIP VIII, a closed-ended, Jersey-domiciled private investment vehicle established in July 2018. E-Warehouse REIT will issue, in aggregate, 38,161,962 ordinary shares in the company to the fund and certain investors from it, including the M7 Aggregator Fund.
James Max, chairman of M7 Regional E-Warehouse REIT, said: “M7 Regional E-Warehouse REIT will own a high-quality portfolio of retail warehouses, which will be immediately income-producing. We believe e-warehousing is a sub-sector that will remain highly defensive to online retailing, offering products that consumers want to see and touch. Furthermore, e-warehouses are typically found in convenient edge-of-town locations that are not only ideal for omnichannel retailing but also are well placed and easy to convert for last-mile fulfilment and other warehouse uses.”
Richard Croft, executive chairman of M7 Real Estate, added: “Momentum on IPSX continues to build with the admission of M7 Regional E-Warehouse REIT. M7 REIP VIII Investors recognised the multiple benefits of a listing on IPSX, including being a part of the UK REIT regime, which we expect to improve efficiencies and net profitability. The closure of a number of open-ended real estate funds over the last year has led to a reassessment of the nature of commercial real estate investment, with IPSX offering investors quick and equal access to investment in real estate through securitisation and daily liquidity.”
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