MILL RESIDENTIAL REIT PLC Admission to trading on AIM and first day of dealings

 
TIDMMRR 
 
Mill Residential REIT plc 
 
                        ("The Company" or "The Group") 
 
             Admission to trading on AIM and first day of dealings 
 
                               Stock Ticker: MRR 
 
Highlights 
 
  * Mill Residential REIT becomes the UK's first ever mainstream, buy-to-let 
    REIT specialising in residential property on admission to AIM 
 
  * The Company's successful stock market listing today provides the first way 
    for investors to hold residential property in their ISAs, SIPPs, and other 
    long term savings 
 
  * The Company has raised gross proceeds of GBP987,500 via a placing, giving the 
    Group a market capitalisation of GBP3.5m 
 
  * The placing follows a successful fundraising via crowd funding site 
    SyndicateRoom and a subscription into the Company direct on 17 December 
    2014 which raised GBP1.5m 
 
  * Proven management team with extensive track record in residential real 
    estate will seek to execute a growth strategy that aims to generate 
    increases in net asset value per share for investors 
 
  * Company intends to pay dividends on a semi-annual basis, targeting an 
    average annualised dividend yield of three per cent. 
 
Mill Residential REIT plc, the UK's first ever mainstream, buy-to-let REIT 
specialising in residential property investment, is pleased to announce that 
its entire issued ordinary share capital, which comprises 3,502,020 ordinary 
shares of 10 pence each, has today been admitted to trading on AIM, a market 
operated by the London Stock Exchange ("AIM"), under the ticker "MRR". The 
ordinary shares of the Company were recently allotted at 100 pence per share. 
 
The Company intends to grow rapidly and will seek to generate growth in net 
asset value per share for investors through a combination of growth in asset 
values, buying at attractive prices, and using REIT tax benefits. 
 
Mill Residential REIT's initial portfolio comprises seven buy-to-let properties 
located in high demand commuter locations in London and Southern England and 
the Group's strategy is to create a low risk, sustainable and diversified 
portfolio of residential rental properties within desirable areas of the UK 
with the long term vision of becoming a consolidator in the growing private 
rented sector. 
 
Mill Residential REIT will be advised on property acquisitions, disposals and 
asset management by subsidiaries of Mill Group Holdings, an established UK 
property real estate fund, asset and investment management group. Mill Finance 
will act as the investment adviser to the Company and Mill Residential REIT 
Management will act as asset manager. 
 
The Mill Team comprises an experienced team of property and finance 
professionals and is led by David Toplas and Simon Phillips, who each have over 
20 years' experience in the UK real estate sector. The Mill Residential REIT 
board will be chaired by Ian Ellis, former Chief Executive of Land Securities 
Trillium Limited and a main board director of Land Securities Group plc. 
 
Mill Group Residential Chief Executive, David Toplas said: 
 
"We are delighted to have successfully joined AIM as the UK's first ever 
residential REIT focused on the mainstream, residential property market and are 
looking forward to delivering our growth strategy. I firmly believe that the 
Company will be an attractive way for people to invest their pension savings in 
a familiar asset class of "buy-to-let" property, via a hassle-free format of a 
tax efficient REIT company share. This sector has regularly out-performed all 
other real estate asset classes over the last 30 years on a total returns basis 
and look forward to the future." 
 
Mill Residential REIT Chairman Ian Ellis said: 
 
"The housing shortage facing the UK is well known and, with the young 
professionals and families of `Generation Rent' struggling to obtain 
traditional mortgages, long term renting has become an alternative to home 
ownership. Despite this, the private rented sector remains dominated by 
individual buy-to-let landlords so I am very excited about the potential for 
the Mill Residential REIT to play a long term role in helping to consolidate 
what is a highly fragmented market place." 
 
The company's Admission Document is available to view at 
www.millresidentialreit.co.uk 
 
                                    -ENDS- 
 
For further information please contact: 
 
Mill Residential REIT plc      David Toplas/Simon Phillips   020 7930 8600 
 
Nominated Adviser and Broker   Virginia Bull/Andrew Wagstaff 020 7628 2200 
Sanlam Securities UK           Max Bascombe 
 
Financial PR 
MHP Communications             James White                   020 3128 8100 
 
Positive Profile               Henry Gewanter                07774 228845 
 
 
 
 
Placing Statistics 
 
Placing Price per Ordinary Share                                                 100p 
 
Number of Ordinary Shares in issue following Admission                           3,502,020 
 
Percentage of issued Share Capital represented by the Placing Shares             28.2% 
 
Market capitalisation of the Company at the Placing Price following Admission    GBP3.5m 
 
AIM "ticker"                                                                     MRR 
 
 
About Mill Group Residential 
 
Mill Group Residential is an independent specialist residential investment 
manager with a successful track record of more than 20 years. The group's focus 
is on long-term income generation through targeted asset acquisition and active 
management in the residential sector. The private rented sector is a key 
strategic planned area of growth for the group. 
 
Since 1994, Mill Group has demonstrated its expertise in conceiving, building 
and operating social infrastructure and residential property funds. The team 
has managed GBP2.5bn of assets, including GBP1bn of residential property across a 
number of successful platforms. 
 
What is a UK-REIT? 
 
In brief, a UK real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and 
in most cases, manages income-producing real estate. Modelled after mutual 
funds, REITs provide investors of all types stable income streams, 
diversification and long-term capital appreciation. Rental income of the REIT 
will, in most cases, be exempt from UK taxation. REITs are required to pay out 
90% of their calculated net exempt income as a special type of dividend (known 
as a property income distribution or PID) to shareholders. In turn, 
shareholders will be subject to tax on those dividends (unless falling within 
certain exemptions such as registered pension schemes or charities). 
 
REITs allow anyone to invest in portfolios of properties the same way they 
invest in other industries i.e. through the purchase of shares in the REIT. In 
the same way shareholders benefit by owning shares in other corporations, the 
shareholders of a REIT earn a share of the income produced through real estate 
investment without actually having to go out and buy or finance property. PIDs 
are therefore subject to taxation as if they are a separate property income 
stream. 
 
REITs also have the advantage of being exempt from corporation tax on most 
property capital gains, which brings various benefits such as having a 
competitive advantage on corporate acquisitions. This benefit can potentially 
be shared with the vendor to increase their post-tax proceeds and reduce the 
REITs purchase price. 
 
In the UK, REITs own many types of commercial real estate, ranging from office 
and apartment buildings to warehouses, hospitals, shopping centres and hotels. 
Mill Residential REIT would be the first REIT focused solely on the mainstream, 
UK residential property market. 
 
 
 
END