Business
Placing to fund Covent Garden opportunities
Placing to fund Covent Garden opportunities.
About this update from Shaftesbury Capital Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nRNS Number : 9736F Capital & Counties Properties Plc 05 May 2011 \n \n\nNOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN\n \n05 May 2011\n \nCapital & Counties Properties PLC (\"Capco\" or the \"Company\")\n \nPlacing to fund acquisition opportunities at Covent Garden\n \nCapco today announces the underwritten placing of up to 62,100,000 new ordinary shares of 25 pence in the capital of the Company (the \"Placing\") representing approximately 9.99 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital immediately prior to the Placing.\n \nHighlights of the Placing\n \n· Underwritten placing of up to 62,100,000 new ordinary shares \n· Capco's strategy of improving rental levels at Covent Garden is ahead of plan and the Board sees further opportunities to extend this strategy through further near-term acquisitions across the estate \n· Proceeds of the Placing will predominantly be used to fund acquisitions and also the ongoing repositioning of assets at Covent Garden\n \nBackground to and reasons for the Placing\n \nAt the time of the demerger from Liberty International PLC (now Capital Shopping Centres Group PLC) (the \"Demerger\"), Capco was allocated sufficient capital to undertake and complete the strategies outlined at that time for each of its estates. Capco has made significant progress implementing those strategies, in particular in respect of Covent Garden and the Earls Court site, where it continues to see significant opportunity for value creation. \n \nIn the Covent Garden estate, progress is ahead of plan and as a result the Company sees an opportunity to extend its strategy further across the estate. This strategy includes:\n \n· increasing prime space within the estate, and therefore increasing average rental levels; \n· improving both the retail and food & beverage (F&B) tenant mix;\n· growing the estate through acquisitions to strengthen Capco's influence across the area; \n· pursuing change of use strategies where profitable to do so, focusing particularly on co...