Supermarket Income REIT secures £67m debt facility in refinancing move
Supermarket Income REIT has secured a £67m debt facility as part of wider refinancing efforts.
The real estate investment trust, which invests in UK grocery property, has also cancelled two shorter-dated debt facilities and reduced and extended an existing debt facility.
Overall, the REIT has reduced its loan-to-value ratio to 34%, down from 40% in December 2022, with the weighted average term of debt now in excess of four years.
Over 60% of the REIT’s debt facilities are now unsecured, compared to 48% in December, and the company said it has available undrawn facilities in excess of £100m.
The cancellation of the two shorter-dated debt facilities included a £77.5m revolving credit facility with Barclays and the Royal Bank of Canada, and a £62.1m unsecured debt facility provided by a syndicate of banks.
The REIT’s existing secured interest-only £150 million revolving credit facility with HSBC has been refinanced with a new £50 million, secured, three-year facility with a £75 million uncommitted accordion option. The new facility has two one-year extension options.
The new £67m facility has been completed with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). The unsecured, three-year debt facility has two one-year extension options.
Ben Green, director of Atrato Capital, the investment adviser to Supermarket Income REIT, said: “We are very pleased to be working with new lender SMBC in the refinancing of the company’s debt facilities whilst benefitting from the continuing support of our existing relationship banks. We have also been able to extend hedging to further protect the company’s balance sheet at no additional cost.
“The company continues to be able to access debt financing at attractive margins, however, given the current macroeconomic environment the board considers it prudent to maintain a lower loan-to-value.”