Family-owned firm, which manages more than 800,000 sq ft of office space in and around Liverpool including the Plaza and the Cotton Exchange, will invest the cash in its estate. Tony McDonough reports
One of Liverpool’s biggest owners of commercial property, Bruntwood, has raised more than £90m to invest in its estate.
The family-owned firm, which manages more than 800,000 sq ft of office space in and around Liverpool including the Plaza and the Cotton Exchange, raised £90.87m through the issue of its second retail eligible bond.
The bond, which was significantly oversubscribed, included both a cash offer, which raised £58m, and exchange for holders of the firm’s existing secured retail bond maturing in 2020, which provided an additional £32.9m.
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Bruntwood, which has a property portfolio valued at £1.4bn, was founded in 1976 and provides high quality office space and a network of innovation districts for the science and technology sector across Liverpool, Greater Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham.
In 2018, the business launched a £50m investment programme to transform several of its landmark city-centre buildings. It also marked the creation of Bruntwood SciTech – the UK’s first dedicated property platform for the science and technology sector, which has assets of £438m.
Chris Oglesby, chief executive of Bruntwood, said: “While our first bond in 2013 proved to be a success, the demand we’ve seen from investors for a second time really demonstrates the positive outlook for the market and is testament to the strength of our business.
“Through this issue we have been able to diversify our funding base, which means we can better manage risk across our portfolio and create further headroom in our secured facilities. Our investors have played a big part in our continued success and development over the last seven years and the success of this bond will allow us greater flexibility as we continue to invest in the UK’s thriving cities.
“We are embedded in the fabric of our four key cities, investing in their future and working together with their leaders on strategies that will help them to thrive. With rebalancing the UK economy top of the agenda for local and central government, and the science and technology sectors at the heart of future growth, we are in the optimal position to help regional cities reach their potential”.
Chatham Financial advised on the transaction. City and Continental, which operates as Allia C&C, and Peel Hunt acted as joint lead managers on the issue.
Employing more than 800 people, Bruntwood has over £1.4bn in assets and more than 100 properties across Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham. It provides everything from co-working space and meeting rooms to serviced, managed and leased offices