Wichford, the AIM-listed buyer of regional office buildings let to the government, is to move into the continental European market.
The company, which is domiciled in the Isle of Man and managed jointly by JO Hambro and investment agent BCM, has raised £75m of new equity from a placing of 35.37m new shares at 212p a share to fund its Euro drive.
The Wichford board said it had decided to enter the continental European market because of lower Euro interest rates and the prevalence of indexation of rents. It also said that if there was a convergence with the UK market, the net asset value of the company over the longer term would benefit from any yield compression in Europe. The board also believes that an increase in the size of the company’s debt could let to improved pricing and terms through securitisation or bond issuance.
Wichford has a £507m portfolio of properties under management which generates a yearly income of £30.3m
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