Equites CEO Andrea Taverna-Turisan
Real estate investment trust Equites Property Fund has raised R750-million in the South African debt capital market in a public auction of senior unsecured floating rate notes maturing in June 2026 and June 2028.
On September 5, Equites issued R300-million in a 2.75-year note at a margin of 129 basis points and R450-million in a 4.75-year note at a margin of 139 basis points.
In total, R2.45-billion of bids were received from 16 different investors, resulting in a book that was 3.3 times oversubscribed in an auction conducted by Nedbank CIB.
"Compared with our last auction in November 2022, we achieved significantly better results, clearing 17 basis points and 20 basis points lower for the three- and five-year notes, respectively. Equites continues to be a regular issuer in the debt capital markets. As part of our strategy to reduce our loan-to-value ratio, the funds will be used along with asset disposal proceeds to repay existing debt,” Equites treasurer and risk management head Warren Dougals comments.
Equites CEO Andrea Taverna-Turisan says that the company's public debt auction has, once again, yielded an excellent set of results with strong institutional support from a variety of investors in the capital markets.
"This indicates strong market support for our business strategy, and the confidence which South African investors have in Equites," he adds.