Cairn Homes raises €169m in share issue

London-listed Irish house builder Cairn Homes said yesterday it had raised €168.9 million in net proceeds through the issuance of 157.6 million new shares at €1.12 each, subject to shareholder approval.

The company plans to hold an extraordinary general meeting no later than April 18th with the new shares to begin trading on the following day. Cairn’s shares closed down almost 4 per cent in London yesterday at €1.14 with the details of the capital raising announced after the market had closed.

The gross proceeds from the placing and open offer amount to €176.5 million but the company is paying €7.6 million in commissions, fees and expenses. The new shares represent 30.5 per cent of the company’s existing stock and 23.4 per cent of the enlarged issued share capital.

Cairn said it had successfully placed 46.9 million new ordinary shares via a firm placing, raising about €52.5 million before expenses. It also plans to issue 110.7 ordinary shares, which will raise about €124 million before expenses.

Details of the placing and open offer were originally disclosed to the market on Monday. The net proceeds achieved are slightly higher than the €167.4 million predicted by the company.

Cairn was floated on the London market in June 2015, raising €440 million. It raised an additional €52 million in a placing last December.

Earlier this month, Cairn announced it had increased its senior debt facility to €200 million, with Ulster Bank joining AIB as a lender to the group.

Cairn has been busily buying sites, mostly in Dublin, for house-building and plans to use these proceeds to finance the acquisitions, for development purposes and to fund its day-to-day operation.

Development sites

The pipeline sites have a total anticipated cost of between €193 million and €203 million with the potential for more than 2,000 homes.

On March 14th, Cairn announced the first of its asset transfers from its recently-acquired Ulster Bank Project Clear loan portfolio. Three development sites from this portfolio, in Blackrock, Stillorgan and Moyglare in Maynooth, moved into the company’s direct asset ownership. In a separate transaction, Cairn contracted to acquire a site adjacent to Moyglare from York Capital at a cost of €27 million.