Ediston Property Investment Company (Epic) shareholders have approved the £200m sale of the trust’s entire portfolio to Realty Income.
At a general meeting held yesterday (26 September), 92.6% of attendees voted in favour of the sale.
Epic invests in UK commercial property, particularly in the retail warehouse sector. The deal will see Realty Income purchase 11 retail warehouse assets located across the UK. The Epic portfolio is let to 64 tenants over 108 units.
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The board said it anticipates the deal to complete tomorrow (28 September).
As previously announced, the Epic board will now seek approval to wind up the investment trust.
The manager of TR Property Investment Trust – which is Epic’s largest shareholder – Marcus Phayre-Mudge reacted to the news, saying: “I agree with Epic’s board that it is a well-run business that is simply too small to stand alone.
“The regulatory, reporting and investor relations requirements for listed companies have mushroomed over the years. The costs of running a listed property company with less than about £750m in assets are now disproportionate.
“I applaud the Epic board’s self-awareness around the size and liquidity of the vehicle and continue to believe there is scope for further consolidation in the listed property space.”
Phayre-Mudge added that Epic has sold its portfolio at “a healthy premium to the undisturbed share price”.
“This reinforces the fact there is investor demand for retail warehousing, which offers retailers sales channels that complement the move to online,” he continued.
“Some big-name stores have already begun charging a fee for online purchase returns, as free home delivery is unsustainable from both a profit and an ESG perspective. Click and collect and free returns to store will drive demand for the convenient, edge-of-town locations such as those in the Epic portfolio.”
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