- Latest loan takes new lending activity this year to £19.1m
- A further £17.5m loan in documentation and a strong pipeline means the Board expects to announce details of a further fundraising in the near term
The Company is pleased to announce that it has completed a new £16.2 million loan facility to an affiliate of Affinity Global Real Estate. The loan, which is secured by a first mortgage over a multi-let office property in Bristol, comprises an initial advance of £14.2 million, at an LTV ratio of 67.3%, together with a committed £2.0 million capital expenditure facility. The loan matures in May 2022.
The Company also announces an additional circa £0.9 million commitment to the borrower of the Northlands loan to support the ongoing business plan. The total loan now equates to £8.5 million and carries an LTV ratio of 53.5%. The Company has also extended the coupon protection period of the combined total loan.
These advances were funded through the immediate reinvestment of proceeds from the redemption of the Company’s IRAF loan, together with accrued interest and exit fees, following a sale of the portfolio of properties securing the loan. This reinvestment minimises cash drag and is accretive to shareholders. The repayment of the IRAF loan (£11.94m as at 31 October) followed the sale of the light industrial/ warehouse security portfolio by Infrared to Blackstone and M7 as part of a £320m portfolio deal.
Following these portfolio changes, the Company’s weighted average investment coupon increases to 6.31% (31 October 2017: 6.26%) and LTV increases to 64.4% (31 October 2017: 60.1%). The weighted average unexpired term of the portfolio loans as at the date of this announcement is 1.71 years (31 October 2017: 1.27 years), with approximately £45.2 million of the Company’s investments having been originated or extended since the Company’s change of investment policy in 2017.
In addition to the above and as detailed in its trading update dated 26 January 2018, the Company is documenting a further new loan totalling £17.5 million, and in anticipation of concluding this investment and recognising the strength of the wider pipeline, the Board expects to announce details of a further fundraising under the Company’s approved placing programme in the near term.
The size of any share issuance will be determined in due course in light of existing cash resources, any potential loan redemptions in the near term and the development of the broader pipeline, in order to ensure that the Company does not experience avoidable cash drag.
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