Hammerson raises funds through private placement

29th Nov 2013 07:01

Hammerson, the property development and investment company, has raised funds to repay existing debt and refinance upcoming bond maturities through the placement of seven-, 10- and 12-year notes. The group raised a total of $443m, which will fund in two tranches. By final drawdown in June 2014, the placement will repay existing floating rate debt and increase the proportion of the group's fixed rate debt by approximately 13% (72% fixed at September 30th). The financing will also extend the weighted average debt maturity by approximately 0.4 years (5.9 years at September 30th), it said. The fixed rate notes are denominated in US dollar, British pound sterling and euro, with the US dollar portion being swapped to fixed euro, Hammerson explained. The resultant weighted average coupon is a fixed rate of 3.6%, with a weighted average maturity of nine years and an equivalent nominal value of £277m. Timon Drakesmith, Chief Financial Officer of Hammerson, said: "This financing locks in long-dated funding with appealing coupons, whilst the flexible terms allow us to retain the immediate benefits of low floating rates. "Being Hammerson's debut issuance into this market, we are delighted to have created new debt investor relationships to further diversify our sources of finance and build on our strong liquidity position."NR