A revised takeover offer for Warehouse REIT PLC (AIM:WHR) from Blackstone has drawn fire from Shore Capital, which argues that the private equity giant is undervaluing the property group at a time of strengthening fundamentals.
Blackstone trimmed its final offer to 109p per share on Wednesday, down from the previous 113.4p, citing differing views over the valuation of a key development site at Radway Green in Cheshire.
Crucially, shareholders would forgo any future dividends under the new terms, and the bid still sits some 18% below ShoreCap’s estimate of the company’s net asset value, pegged at 133p per share for the current financial year.
ShoreCap believes the Radway Green site, adjacent to a BAE munitions facility, may be more valuable than Blackstone suggests.
With Labour pledging £1.5 billion for new weapons factories, the broker notes the site could be well positioned to benefit from any defence build-out.
Meanwhile, Warehouse REIT’s core multi-let industrial portfolio continues to trade strongly, with recent lease activity achieving 32% uplifts and yield compression pushing up net asset value.
The acquisition of a new Oxfordshire site further bolsters its exposure to high-growth regions.
With the shares yielding 6% and trading at a 20% discount to NAV, ShoreCap says investors could be rewarded for holding out.
In afternoon trading, the shares were static at 106.73p.