Supermarket Income REIT secures £445m debt refinancing
Supermarket Income REIT has secured a £445m debt refinancing, as it looks to lower borrowing costs and increase average debt maturity.
The new facilities – which comprise a £375m syndicate and £70m bilateral – will replace all of the real estate investment trust’s existing unsecured loan facilities maturing over the next two years.
The facilities, which all benefit from two one-year extension options, comprise:
- A £225m syndicated three-year revolving credit facility (RCF)
- A £45m bilateral three-year RCF
- A £150m syndicated five-year RCF
- A £25m bilateral five-year RCF
As part of the refinancing, the group has added two new banking relationships with Lloyds Bank and ABN AMRO, while retaining its relationships within existing facilities with Barclays, HSBC UK, ING, and The Royal Bank of Scotland. Supermarket Income REIT said this demonstrates the strong appeal of high-quality grocery assets to lenders.
The average margin across the facilities is 1.18% above the Sterling Overnight Index Average, representing an annual interest cost saving of approximately £0.3m. These new facilities will be used to repay the existing Barclays, ING and syndicated RCFs, increasing the group’s weighted average debt maturity from 2.9 years to 3.8 years.
Mike Perkins, CFO of Supermarket Income REIT, said: “The strong support from our existing lenders and new partners in Lloyds and ABN AMRO reflects the ongoing appeal of grocery assets within the lending community. We continue to access bank finance at attractive rates, underlining the quality of our portfolio, the confidence in our strategy, and the strength of our relationships. The improvement in our debt maturity profile further enhances our capital structure which remains well diversified by maturity and source.”