Shaftesbury to raise £265m to buy 72 Broadwick, further acquisitons

Shaftesbury has raised £265m through a placing of 27.8m new shares to fund its acquisition activity.

The new cash will be used to finance its acquisition of 72 Broadwick Street, W1, for £92m and the £20m of additional capital it expects to spend on the building, which sits in the centre of the Carnaby Estate.

Shaftesbury said the purchase of the 0.5-acre site would provide opportunities through change of use, reconfiguration and refurbishment to create valuable new retail and restaurant space in the building.

In its current configuration, the building provides 54,100 sq ft of offices, 11 flats extending to 11,200 sq ft and a large basement car park.

It produces an income of £3.1m, of which £2.6m will cease when the office tenant vacates at the end of September 2018.

The purchase initially increases the proportion of total group income derived from offices by 2% to 19%.

Funds will also be used for the £41m purchase of 90-104 Berwick Street, W1, and £9m of other property acquisitions undertaken over the past six months.

The remainder will be used to provide financial capacity for further acquisitions as opportunities arise and will be invested in asset management initiative across its portfolio.

Shaftesbury chief executive Brian Bickell said: “Securing additional equity will support the continuing expansion of, and investment in, our exceptional portfolio located in the heart of London’s West End.”

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