EPP leaves stock exchanges and makes changes to the portfolio

On March 8, 2022, EPP was delisted from the Johannesburg and Luxembourg stock exchanges with the support of the vast majority of the company's shareholders. EPP is owned by Redefine Properties, the second-largest real estate investment fund (REIT) listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. There were also changes in the portfolio of properties owned by the company.

The company's decision to withdraw its shares from stock exchange trading and to reorganize the portfolio by selling a significant part of assets was mainly influenced by the two-year pandemic and the related temporary restrictions on operations, which were particularly severe for the shopping center industry in Poland. The regulations introduced by the special act exempting tenants of shopping centers from the obligation to pay rents and service charges during lockdown periods had an impact on the company's financial situation. The rental income has been significantly reduced, and at the same time the loan obligations which the company has to settle have built up.

As part of the reorganization, EPP concluded preliminary sale agreements for the Towarowa 22 and Power Park Opole projects, and sold approximately 50% of shares in a part of its portfolio, creating two joint ventures: Horse JV  and Community Properties JV. The first includes nine M1 shopping centers and two retail parks. The second covers eleven commercial buildings and three office complexes.

"The proposed changes in the portfolio allowed us to obtain funds to repay our loan obligations, and at the same time to keep the management of all existing projects in our hands, thanks to which the composition of our team and market position has not changed,"  Tomasz Trzósło, President of the Management Board of EPP, summed up.

(WBJ)