Grit has announced that it plans to officially seek approval from the UK Listing Authority to proceed with the group’s listing on the London Stock Exchange.
“Our planned listing on the London Stock Exchange will create a compelling opportunity for UK and other equity investors to gain exposure to the African real estate sector, which offers some of the best returns in the global property market .
We have a proven track record of generating income from our selective and diversified range of assets, built through our close and detailed understanding of the region’s property investment environment.
The listing will support our aim to grow our portfolio further and become the leading real estate owner on the African continent outside South Africa” commented Bronwyn Corbett, founder member and Chief Executive of Grit.
Grit will issue up to 250 million new shares at an EPRA net asset value of US$1.43 per ordinary share to raise a minimum of US$120 million. This forms part of the listing. The issue will be by means of an offer for subscription and a private placement of ordinary shares in the UK, South Africa and Mauritius. The proceeds of the listing will go towards growing Grit’s portfolio in Ghana, which hosts Grit’s high-quality pipeline of assets as well as other regions and to reduce gearing.
“We are extremely excited about the prospects of listing in London,” said Corbett. “The teams have been working exceptionally hard since late last year to make this happen. Our final hurdle in the listing process was the application of Best Practice Recommendations by the European Public Real Estate Association to our business, which has traditionally used IFRS as a benchmark. We have now received the all-clear and will proceed with the application to list by end of July.”
Once listed on the LSE, Grit will hold primary listings on the JSE, the LSE, and SEM. AXYS Corporate Advisory is acting as lead transaction adviser and Perigeum Capital is acting as the Mauritian transaction adviser. finnCap Limited is acting as UK financial adviser and joint UK placing agent. Baden Hill, a trading name of Northland Capital Partners Limited and Exotix Partners LLP are acting as joint UK placing agents. PSG Capital is acting as sponsor and placing agent in South Africa.
