LONDON (Alliance News) - Hibernia REIT PLC, an investor in Irish commercial property, on Thursday said it has agreed a new EUR400.0 million revolving credit facility secured against a corporate level debenture, with the company attracting two new lenders as part of the syndicate behind the financing arrangement.
The two new lenders are Barclays Bank Ireland PLC, part of London-listed Barclays PLC, which is participating to the tune of EUR140.0 million, as well as Ulster Bank Ireland Ltd, part of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, which is contributing EUR70.0 million.
"We are delighted to have agreed this facility, continuing our relationship with Bank of Ireland and welcoming Barclays and Ulster Bank as new lenders. This secures competitively priced and flexible financing for Hibernia for five years and will enable us to move quickly to take advantage of investment opportunities as well as to fund our development pipeline," Hibernia REIT Chief Financial Officer Tom Edwards-Moss said in a statement.
Barclays and Ulster Bank are joined by existing lender Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking, which is participating at EUR190.0 million, with all three banks serving as joint bookrunners and joint arrangers of the facility.
A revolving credit facility shares similarities with a line of credit, although it tends to be of a much larger size. Banks make such facilities available to corporate clients, which then have flexibility about when to use the funds.
The new facility comes with a five-year term, which is in line with typical timelines of between one and five years.
The financial deal replaces an existing EUR100.0 million facility which was due to mature in August 2017. The new arrangement has a reduced margin compared to the previous deal while the financial covenants were unaltered.
News of the revolving credit facility came as Hibernia REIT said it made a EUR73.7 million pretax profit in the six months to September 30, compared with EUR31.9 million in the corresponding half the prior year, when including revaluation surplus and gains on disposals. EPRA net asset value per share was 122.1 cents on September 30, up 9.2% from March 31.
"The Dublin property market is well supported by the economic growth Ireland is enjoying and with new, flexible funding in place allowing us to act quickly as opportunities arise we are optimistic for the future," Chief Executive Kevin Nowlan said in a statement.
The real estate investment trust lifted its interim dividend per share to 0.7 cent from 0.3 cent.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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