SINGAPORE (Mar 12): Units in United Hampshire US Real Estate Investment Trust have closed at 64 US cents – a full 20% below its initial public offering (IP) price of 80 US cents – as it made its debut on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Thursday.
On the same day, the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 2.71%, amid panic selling after the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday night officially declared the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak a pandemic.
Trading in units of United Hampshire US REIT on the SGX Mainboard had started at 2pm on Thursday.
The counter opened at 72 US cents – 10% lower than its IPO price – before sinking further to as low as 62 US cents within the first half hour of trading.
The REIT eventually clawed back slightly to close at 64 US cents, with some 12.1 million units changed hands.
The offering had comprised a Singapore public offer of some 7.5 million units and an international placement tranche of around 80.33 million units to investors outside the US.
The REIT manager announced that the public tranche of 7.5 million units was just 1.4 times subscribed at the close of the offering at noon on March 10.
In comparison, the public tranche for Elite Commercial REIT, the first UK-focused Singapore real estate investment trust that made its debut in February, was 8.3 times subscribed.
See: Elite Commercial REIT reports public tranche for IPO 8.3 times subscribed
Meanwhile, United Hampshire US REIT’s placement tranche, which was offered internationally to investors outside of the US, received indications of interest amounting to more than US$220.1 million – some 3.4 times higher than the value available for subscription.
Overall, the offering of 87.83 million units was 3.2 times subscribed.
See: United Hampshire US REIT's public tranche for IPO 1.4 times subscribed
United Hampshire US REIT is Asia’s first US grocery-anchored shopping centre and self-storage REIT.
The REIT’s initial portfolio of 22 assets comprises 18 predominantly freehold grocery-anchored and necessity-based retail properties, as well as four modern, climate-controlled self-storage facilities.
The properties are primarily concentrated in the densely populated and affluent Northeast markets of the US.
The predominantly freehold quality portfolio has an appraised value of approximately US$599.2 million and an aggregate net lettable area (NLA) of approximately 3.17 million sq ft.
The REIT’s distinctive portfolio enjoys a high existing occupancy of 95.2%, backed by a strong tenant base which include some of the largest grocers, wholesalers, home improvement retailers, and discount retailers in the US.
It has a long weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 8.4 years by base rental income (BRI), with the top 10 tenants contributing 66.7% of BRI in September 2019.
The leases are almost all “triple net” leases, with tenants responsible for their pro-rata share of all real estate taxes, building insurance, property expenses, and common area operating.
See: United Hampshire US REIT launches Singapore IPO at $1.12 per unit
