'Exceptional opportunity': Investors sought for Scotch Corner Designer Village in £25.5m fundraising plan
Investors are being offered the chance to back a new designer outlet development at ‘crossroads of the North’ Scotch Corner as the company behind the scheme launches a £25.5m capital fundraising process.
Scotch Corner Designer Village is due to open next year at a site off the junction of the A1M and A66 which is passed by 29 million vehicles a year.
Plans for the retail park have been in the pipeline for a decade but its opening schedule has been repeatedly pushed back. Enabling works on the site have already taken place, with current plans for the site to open in 18 months.
Scotch Corner Designer Village Holdings has now announced it intends to apply for admission to trading on the Aquis Real Asset Market (ARAM) segment of the Aquis exchange and has appointed Oberon Capital and RetailBook to raise £25.5 million of new capital, targeting both retail investors through RetailBook as well as institutional investors, ahead of an intended flotation via an initial public offering (the “IPO”) on AQSE.
The listing is expected to complete in April, with shares expected to be tradeable on platforms including Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor.
The company said brands already signed up to open at the development include Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss and Tommy Hilfiger, as well as dining outlets such as Wagamama, Pizza Express & Five Guys, together with a 15,000 sq ft M&S.
Simon Waterfield, CEO of Scotch Corner Designer Village Holdings plc, said: "With the appointments of Oberon Capital and RetailBook, we are now commencing the fundraising process on what we believe is an exceptional opportunity for investors to benefit from the development of what will be the UK’s newest designer village, in the highest growth retail subsector.
"Scotch Corner is already largely pre-let, and we therefore believe it is substantially derisked, and is perfectly located on the ‘crossroads of the North’ where it enjoys a catchment of some 4.5 million consumers living within an hour’s drive and is passed by some 29 million vehicles each year.
"The pre-letting success we’ve had to date, and the brands that have either signed up already or that we are in dialogue with regarding the remaining space, provide strong endorsement of the desirability of the location and underscore our confidence in our business plan.
“We expect to be the first company to IPO on the newly launched Aquis Real Asset Market, creating an important new corporate finance template that allows SME developers such as us to access capital, while allowing retail investors direct access to projects and the associated returns that are usually reserved for private equity type professional investors and developers.”
Michael Lynagh, director at Aram Advisors, added: “Having launched ARAM in the middle of last year and flagged that we were expecting Scotch Corner to be the first company to IPO on this new market, today’s announcement marks an important milestone in achieving our goal of creating a platform that democratises access to the £1.3 trillion UK real estate market, enabling the general public to invest in opportunities typically reserved for professional investors.
"We look forward to welcoming Scotch Corner onto Aquis in due course, and to proving ARAM’s position as a viable new capital raising option for real estate owners and developers.”