In working towards its strategy to become a 100% multi-let industrial business, Stenprop is proposing a name change from ‘Stenprop Limited’ to ‘Industrials REIT Limited’ in line with the company’s industrials operating business.
According to the company, listed real estate investors are increasingly choosing to invest in companies with targeted investment strategies in specific asset classes, allowing them to build a portfolio with a balance of sector exposures which meet their risk and return criteria, rather than investing in a diversified portfolio where the company or manager chooses the mix of assets.
“Many of the companies who pursue such strategies adopt a name which clearly reflects their investment strategy, and a long-term commitment to continuing to follow that strategy” the company stated in a recent SENS announcement.
“Feedback received from the wealth management community indicates a strong preference for Stenprop to adopt a similar naming convention”.
The name ‘Stenprop’ was derived from Stenham Property, the fund management business which historically owned the business and seeded Stenprop with a multi-sector and geographically diverse portfolio.
In 2017, the company acquired the industrials business and in 2018, it embarked on a four-year transition programme which has seen it dispose of over £500 million of non-core assets with the proceeds reinvested into the UK multi-let industrial (MLI) property sector.
A further £100 million of disposals of non-core assets are targeted during the company’s current financial year, on completion of which Stenprop will be 100% MLI focused. As part of this transition, Stenprop has also built an operating platform, listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), converted to a UK REIT, and significantly reduced its leverage.
“The completion of this business transition will mark the start of a new chapter for Stenprop. The board of directors believe that a change of name to ‘Industrials REIT Limited’ would reflect the comprehensive nature of the transition and mark the start of the next phase for the company as a fully-fledged MLI operating company”.
The board believes that ‘Industrials REIT Limited’ will keep the brands separate but bring the alignment, washing the ethics, principles, and culture of the company across both brands.
“This would be helpful from a staff perspective (with many of Stenprop’s employees more closely associated to Industrials than Stenprop) but will also mean that both investors and customers will have a similar experience with a consistency in look, feel and approach. The company also recently launched the Industrials Hive brand for its MLI operating platform, adding to a family of brands under the Industrials umbrella which are able to operate autonomously but also in synchronicity”.
Shareholders have been asked to consider the proposed name change at the REIT’s upcoming AGM taking place at 180 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5QZ on Friday, the 10th 2021 at 9:00 a.m. BST / 10:00 a.m. SAST.
