Cromwell European REIT (CEREIT) made its debut on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) with a €556m initial public offering.
The REIT, which owns European real estate assets, was listed by Australia’s Cromwell Property Group and began trading at the issue price of €0.55.
It closed virtually unchanged at €0.555, with just 18m shares changing hands during the two hours it appeared on the SGX main board.
Cromwell had offered 428.5m units and said the REIT was more than three times oversubscribed when the offer closed on Tuesday.
The listing of Cromwell’s European property assets comes after it reduced its initial public offering, following a failed attempt in September.
The listing of CEREIT has now fulfilled Cromwell’s ambition to run a funds management platform in Europe – the reason it acquired the former Valad Europe business.
Cromwell’s chief executive Paul Weightman told Australian media following the company’s annual meeting yesterday that the focus for the company was on opportunities to grow in Europe.
CEREIT offers investors access to 74 office and light industrial/logistics properties in gateway cities in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
The company said investors would benefit from the improving economic outlook in Europe.
SGX’s head of equities and fixed income Chew Sutat said it was the first euro-denominated listing and the first REIT with a diversified pan-European portfolio to be listed on the SGX.
“This is the first of its kind listing in Asia and adds to the vibrancy of the SGX REIT cluster by offering investors an opportunity to invest in Europe’s real estate.”
The next cross-border listing in Singapore will be a trust offering exposure to US office buildings.
The listing of CEREIT brings the total number of SGX-listed REITs and property trusts to 43 with a combined market capitalisation of SGD88bn (€55bn).
