Palace Capital has bolstered its cash pile with a series of sales and has appointed agents to help offload other non-core assets.
In a stock market update ahead of its interim results in mid-November, the REIT said it had sold its Meadowcourt development in Sheffield for £1.25m and, in recent weeks, Hyde Abbey House in Winchester for £1.46m.
The company has tasked agents with selling four further properties with a combined book value of £7.5m.
Palace Capital’s cash reserves at 30 September were £14.3m with a further £5m from a revolving credit facility.
“The continuing strategic disposals programme is expected to considerably enhance this,” the company said. “In the current economic climate, there is a focus on maintaining maximum liquidity to handle any unforeseen circumstances and to take advantage of potential opportunities in the short to medium term.”
Given that the company’s cash and shares trade at a 50% discount to NAV, a new shareholder in Palace Capital has suggested that the management team should be considering a share buyback programme.
Stockholm-based Peter Gyllenhammar told EG last week that a share buyback “must be done”, adding: “It’s in the best interests of the company, it is in the best interest of the shareholders. No stakeholder will suffer from it.”
Palace Capital chief executive Neil Sinclair has said the board will consider the matter after its interim results announcement.
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