ELITE Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) has obtained a committed offer for debt facilities of up to £135 million (S$229.7 million) from a group of financial institutions.
At a three-term, the new credit facilities will help the Reit to efficiently manage its working capital, said the manager on Monday (Mar 4).
It noted that the funds obtained will be used to refinance the Reit’s existing loan facilities, among other things.
Joshua Liaw, chief executive of the manager, noted that securing the credit facilities shows strong relationships with banking partners. The manager said the offer came from new lending relationships that the manager sourced through the Reit’s sponsor.
Liaw said that the refinancing exercise will allow the Reit to reinforce its capital structure and maximise unitholder returns through asset repositioning strategies. This entails divestments and repurposing vacant assets to unlock latent value in its real estate portfolio.
“Early negotiations on tenant retention and lease expiry diversification are also in progress,” said Liaw.
The manager added that post the £28 million preferential offering concluded on Jan 18, the Reit’s net gearing was lowered to 40.9 per cent from 2023-end 47.5 per cent.
As at Dec 31, 2023, about 66 per cent of its borrowings were hedged on fixed interest rates and the interest coverage ratio stood at 3.1 times.
The counter of Elite Commercial Reit closed Friday flat at £0.25.
