Asset Plus/Announcement
Asset Plus logo

Unconditional sale of Eastgate Shopping Centre

M&A21 February 2021APLReal Estate

NZX RELEASE
22 February 2021


Unconditional sale of Eastgate Shopping Centre


• Disposal of non-core Eastgate asset

• Proceeds to retire debt and support development programme

• Intention to maintain constant dividend


Asset Plus (NZX:APL) is pleased to announce the unconditional sale of a non-core asset, the Eastgate Shopping

Centre in Christchurch at a price of $43.45 million.


The sale is to a New Zealand based private investor with the settlement date being the earlier of:


(a) A date nominated by the Purchaser that is not before 22 August 2021 (with 20 working days’ notice to be

given); and

(b) 22 February 2022.


Asset Plus Chair, Bruce Cotterill said “Eastgate is non-core in the Asset Plus portfolio and the sale is a positive step

forward in the transformation of Asset Plus. The management team at Augusta have done an excellent job of

behalf of the Company in delivering this outcome in a manner that compliments our overall objectives.”


Augusta Funds Management Managing Director, Mark Francis, commented: “Augusta as Manager is now focussed

on the completion of the $142 million Munroe Lane building for Auckland Council and marketing the Asset Plus

Graham Street, Auckland, property for lease with the ultimate aim of bringing Asset Plus to scale.”


A deposit of $1.5 million is payable by the purchaser, which is immediately released to APL. The Manager

negotiated the sale directly with the purchaser and no agency commission is payable. The transaction has been

structured by the Manager with a deferred settlement so that APL can benefit from the earnings stream over the

near term and during part of the Munroe Lane development window.


Following settlement of the sale, adjusted funds from operations (AFFO

1

) are expected to decrease on an

annualised basis by 0.45 cents per share, until completion of the Munroe Lane development. Gearing will reduce

to 0%. The proceeds of the sale will be applied towards debt repayment with any remaining balance (which will be

subject to the actual settlement date) held as cash. The reduction in gearing creates additional balance sheet

capability. Total banking facility limits are expected to reduce from $130 million to $90 million following the sale.


Based on initial draft valuations received to date (which are still subject to finalisation and the independent

auditor’s review), net tangible assets (NTA) following the sale are expected to be in line with the NTA of 44 cents

per share post completion of the capital raising in October 2020.


The dividend remains subject to quarterly review, but it is the Board’s intention to hold a constant dividend during

the Munroe Lane development period.


-ENDS-


For further information please contact:


Mark Francis Simon Woollams

Managing Director, Augusta Funds Asset Plus CFO, Augusta Funds Management

Management Limited, Manager of Asset Plus Limited, Manager of Asset Plus

09 300 6161 09 300 6161




1

AFFO is a non-GAAP financial information, calculated based on guidance issued by the Property Council of Australia. Asset

Plus considers that AFFO is a useful measure for shareholders and management because it assists in assessing the Company’s

underlying operating performance.



Stephen Brown-Thomas

Asset Plus and Senior Development Manager, Augusta Funds

Management Limited, Manager of Asset Plus

09 300 6161

Data sourced from publicly available filings. Our datasets may not be complete. Automated analysis can produce errors. If you believe any data on this page is incorrect, please contact us at hello@nzxplorer.co.nz. For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.

Other issuers discussed similar conditions around this time

Matched by meaning across NZX announcement text, not keywords — based on our semantic index of announcement bodies.