S.African logistics property firm Equites exploring sale of UK business (updated)

Rothschild & Co SCA

09/05/2023 08:46

(Adds details on UK business, results)
       JOHANNESBURG, May 9 (Reuters) - South African specialist
logistics property group Equites  EQUJ.J  said on Tuesday that
it plans to sell its logistics business in the United Kingdom as
a way to unlock value amid rising interest rates impacting asset
valuations.
        Globally, capital market conditions have changed
considerably since June 2022, with a surge in inflation causing
central banks to respond by increasing interest rates.
  
        Equites said the changing macroeconomic landscape
impacted the UK investment market, which experienced substantial
repricing in asset values during 2022. 
  
        The group's UK portfolio value declined by 21% on a
like-for-like basis, in sterling terms in the year to Feb. 28.  
  
        "The Equites board believes that it is in the group’s
best interest to explore the sale of its stake in the
development platform and has appointed Rothschild & Co as its
corporate advisor to facilitate a transaction," the company
said.
  
        Equites has a 60% shareholding in ENGL, a business it
partnered with Newlands Developments. Through this business, it
will also no longer undertake large-scale developments in the
UK, it added.
  
        The company also reported that its full-year
distribution per share rose by 4.1% while its gross property
revenue increased by 90.3% to over 3.2 billion rand ($174.71
million).
  

    ($1 = 18.3161 rand)
  

 (Reporting by Tannur Anders, additional reporting by Nqobile
Dludla, Editing by Louise Heavens and Ed Osmond)
 ((Tannur.Anders@thomsonreuters.com;))