Branded business parks operator Sirius Real Estate has raised €300 mln in a second senior unsecured corporate bond issuance, following the company’s €400 mln inaugural bond issuance in June.
The bond, which matures at the end of 2028, carries a coupon of 1.75% and is expected to be rated BBB by Fitch. The higher coupon over the June issuance reflects the longer maturity date.
Following on from a recent successful equity raise, the €300 mln bond issuance attracted a solid oversubscription, underlining the support from both equity and debt investors for the company and its business model, Sirius said.
Alistair Marks, chief financial officer of Sirius, commented: 'After the success of our inaugural €400 mln corporate bond in June, it is very pleasing to issue a further €300 mln of notes, locking in continued low rates, to help fund our recent acquisition of BizSpace, particularly given the recent volatility in the debt markets.
'Furthermore, the level of interest we received for our second bond, coupled with our successful equity raise last week, is testament to the confidence that investors have in our ability to generate strong income returns and our broader strategy for growth.'
The new facility will increase Sirius’ weighted average debt expiry to 4.7 years from 3.7 years as of 30 September with the company’s total average cost of debt rising accordingly slightly to 1.36% (1.2% at 30 September 2021).
Sirius will use part of the proceeds to partially finance the company’s recent expansion into the UK market through its acquisition of the BizSpace Group, which it purchased based on an enterprise value of £380 mln (€452 mln).
This will include repaying the existing secured debt facilities within BizSpace as well as replenishing the company’s cash resources to be used to execute further acquisitions from the company’s pipeline of opportunities.
The bonds are governed by German law and will be listed on the Euro MTF Market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Morgan Stanley acted as joint bookrunners on the transaction.
