Shares in Capital & Regional fell 56 per cent after the shopping centre fund manager announced plans to raise £69.2m through an equity fund-raising. The group is placing £23.5m of the new issue with South African property and asset manager Parkdev, while the balance will be offered to ordinary shareholders through a 2-for-1 open offer at 24p a share. The news came as the cash-strapped property group reported a £131m first-half loss, almost all of which was due to writedowns on investments.
The funds will strengthen the group's balance sheet, which, alongside a renegotiation of covenants on its banking facilities, will give it the financial flexibility to acquire further shopping centre assets at a time when there are early indications of a levelling off from the recent downturn. The group has also been successful in raising fresh equity capital for its three funds, with £63.6m raised for its Junction retail park fund and another £50m for its X-Leisure fund.
Occupancy rates held up reasonably well, slipping from 94.6 per cent at the start of the year to 93.6 per cent. For instance, occupancy rates at the Mall fund of regional shopping centres were broadly unchanged at 94.3 per cent, despite a number of administrations in the first quarter. However, this led to a 5 per cent fall in passing rents in the fund, which contributed to a net 3.4 per cent fall in like-for-like passing rents across its three funds.
| CAPITAL & REGIONAL (CAL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 41p | MARKET VALUE: | £29m | |
| TOUCH: | 40-41p | 12M HIGH: | 120p | LOW: 6.8p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | TRADING STOCK: | £67.8m | |
| DISCOUNT TO NAV: | 58% | |||
| INVEST PROPERTIES: | £12.3m | NET DEBT: | 235% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 692 | -197 | -286 | 5.0 |
| 2009 | 71 | -131 | -194 | nil |
| % change | -90 | - | - | -100 |
