Ediston Property Investm... Share Discussion Threads

[boystown] 03/8/2023 07:22

Surely with a small discount, adding in the cash, then knocking off a reasonable amount for red tape wind-up costs, this has to be worth around 75pps?

But I will also miss the monthly income.

[nickrl] 03/8/2023 07:20

@specto i would rather have let Calum get on with what hes being paid to do anyhow as well. However, i fear this is going to be a sell out like CTPT but at least they didn't have £70m sitting there doing nothing. The BoD have proven mediocre but nothing we can do of course to change the outcome.

[spectoacc] 03/8/2023 06:02

Good outcome if it happens, depending upon price - guess will be at a slight discount?

I - and most others I bet - would still have preferred EPIC to continue.


"Following the announcement of the Strategic Review on 16 March 2023, the Board of Ediston Property Investment Company plc is pleased to announce that it is in advanced discussions with a third party buyer regarding a possible sale of the Company's property portfolio.

There can be no certainty at this time that a sale of the Company's property portfolio will take place; nor as to the final terms on which, or the price at which, any such sale might be undertaken. At this time the Board is continuing to conduct its previously announced Strategic Review within the framework of a formal sale process in accordance with the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, and it will do so until further notice."


And why buy the portfolio, at 5% stamp duty, when they could buy the co? Curious.

[nickrl] 02/8/2023 13:56

If the EPIC board ever get around to telling us what the outcome of the strategic review is who knows that might be an option but doubt its a decent fit. BLND seem gungho on RPks but would probably want to be selective. NRR have flogged off several of theirs into BRAVO so another interested party perhaps. However, its dragged on so long that the potential for recession and consumer retrenchment would probably impact pricing now.

All in all a wasted 6mths and still no confirmation they have cash at least earning >4%.

[marktime1231] 02/8/2023 12:30

Super final dividend from AIRE which noted firmer NAV in the retail warehouse sector. The 20-25% discount there and here is presumably because at some point debt terms will have to be refreshed at considerably higher interest rates than at present. Or should the consequences of that be reflected in NAV already?

EPIC reports it has gross borrowings of £111M at a blended fixed rate of 2.86%, in two loan facilities; £57M at 2.99% which matures in May 2025 and £54M at 2.73% which matures in December 2027, both with Aviva and the fixed rates increase by 0.1% if LTV breaches the 40% covenant. 5-year UK gilts are currently at 4.4%.

Here's a thought, how about combining AIRE and EPIC as one of the strategic review options?

[cwa1] 31/7/2023 10:28

Declaration of Interim Dividend



The Company declares its interim dividend (non - property income distribution) payment in respect of the period from 1 to 31 July 2023 of 0.4167 pence per share, as timetabled below:



Ex-Dividend Date:

10 August 2023

Record Date:

11 August 2023

Pay Date:

31 August 2023



This monthly dividend of 0.4167 pence per share equates to an annualised dividend level of 5.00 pence per share and is unchanged from the previous dividend declared on 30 June 2023

[flyer61] 26/7/2023 16:07

Why isn't TRY paying for this review?

[wskill] 26/7/2023 15:53

Yes it is a tad annoying that all this palaver is for one shareholders benefit poor behaviour by directors pandering to their whims, this is not EPICs shareholders problem that TRY have holdings in a number of small property companies.

[chucko1] 26/7/2023 15:06

It takes 10 seconds to buy or sell £40mn of 3m Bills. With tiny bid/offer spread.

They can pull the other one.

[marktime1231] 26/7/2023 11:17

The argument of staying in undeposited cash was to keep all deal options open, including swift deployment of that cash. That was three months ago and yet things drag on almost as if someone is happy to erode value. Temporary money market deposits would have been obviously sensible, as you say the NRR example is telling chuck.

The longer this goes on the angrier I will become but the chance of a genuinely positive outcome which rewards us with a share price > 72p is still two-to-one in my mind. To quit now would feel like bailing out at the bottom, dividends are still being paid, and I don't know which alternatives for sure represent a better bet.

[williamcooper104] 26/7/2023 07:14

Yep and the debt IIRC is with Aviva so it's not a bank looking to grab free deposits Even restricted cash can be invested in deposit bearing accounts and indeed ought to be spread about to mitigate risk The infra trusts with project financed assets are all making out on interest income in blocked cash

[spectoacc] 26/7/2023 06:57

Have also lost faith & sold some, running the rest in hope. Never a big position, but one of the appeals of EPIC had been their management, & focus. Not Calum's fault necessarily, but neither of those now apply.

[chucko1] 26/7/2023 06:54

So NRR have £137mn of cash and have clearly stated they are now earning 5% thereupon.

Is EPIC's cash "different", as in Network Rail's January snow? A large part of an IT's investability is the strength of the management, and the past 6 months have been lacking, no matter the wisdom of holding off investment previously.

I have sold a fair bit in the face of this (past few weeks) as alternatives have become significantly more compelling.

[williamcooper104] 25/7/2023 19:57

Totally; that's the unacceptable option Fine with a sale at NAV or a tickle under Fine with spending the cash and waiting for the market to improve and raising more equity when cost of equity improves

[williamcooper104] 25/7/2023 19:47

Wouldn't say expert; have played about with it a bit - annoyingly the API doesn't bridge yet into excel for Mac - will have a bit more nerdy fun when they sort that out I just use CFDs for UK stocks to dodge the stamp and I'm usually trading US stocks When have used them on trading for UK stocks I've bought them during trading Customer services - I now don't bother calling and just try with the tickets - it's not too bad and getting better - no doubt as they get ChatGPT to work on it

[marktime1231] 25/7/2023 19:44

So we are spending cash on the review (with Investec or?) and on covering the dividend, and still not depositing available funds in the money markets in the meantime?

What use is "shortly", a term used by lawyers because it means nothing and is an infuriating way to fob off enquiries from people anxious to hear progress.

The sub-text from the manager is that, if only you would leave us to get on with the day-to-day job, things are or would be going fine and the outlook is improving or at least getting no worse.

The two positive outcomes are to stick to Plan A or to take a cash offer at a modest discount to NAV. The uncceptable conclusion would be an all share merger with another REIT which pays a rubbish yield.

[hindsight] 25/7/2023 18:07

While I have an IB expert, have you ever had IB CFDs working in auctions, other than entry pre auction

My experience on customer service is , 1 being best
1 Ask other users
2 Send a ticket (message)
3 Trial and error
4 Chat

[williamcooper104] 25/7/2023 17:29

No probs That's one problem with IB - customer services feels like a Siberian prison guard; who knows as much about markets/finance as a Siberian prison guard The on-line help seems to work a bit better but over the phone is hopeless

[hindsight] 25/7/2023 14:59

Yep theres the unknown. Would not surprise me if a merger saved 1%, professional fees going into orbit, but it needs to be same quality of assets

Ps WC104, IB gilts worked great the other week thanks. Amazing IB customer services told me they dont do them

[jonesy100] 25/7/2023 13:22

Agree with all the points made. The justification for the strategic review seems to be slipping away amidst good performance but they still remind us of how challenging it all is. Hmm. Will be very interested to see what the solution is

[chucko1] 25/7/2023 08:34

The investment of the free cash flow was entirely absent from comment. If it had been invested, they would have covered the divi (which they stated they were not doing). Minor, in the grand scheme of things, but a head-scratcher.

[spectoacc] 25/7/2023 07:39

Agreed @fordtin. Let's hope whatever stitch-up they've concocted is good for shareholders in general, not just the one(s) who instigated this review.

[nickrl] 25/7/2023 07:35

Some reassurance that the free cash was at least now earning us a few extra quid would have been welcome and whether the trapped cash is offsetting interest costs in that facility. Looking at the numbers im not convinced it is with nett cash down 2.6m. Enquiries raised.

[fordtin] 25/7/2023 07:17

Personally, I was hoping the review would result in a return to business as usual.

Sadly, "The Board is encouraged by the progress made" suggests to me that changes are afoot.