Tortola, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - December 10, 2024) - Goldmoney Inc. (TSX: XAU) (US: XAUMF) ('Goldmoney' or the 'Company'), is pleased to report that its UK wholly-owned subsidiary Goldmoney Properties Ltd. ('GPL') has completed a material acquisition.
On 10 December 2024, Goldmoney Properties finalised the acquisition of a portfolio of freehold properties known as 'Clarendon Quarter' in Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. This portfolio of mixed-use buildings occupies an approximately 2-acre site in the heart of Oxford City Centre. The existing properties cover around 172,377 square feet and include: the Clarendon Shopping Centre, adjacent high street retail units, and office accommodation.
In June 2024, Oxford City Council granted full planning consent for the partial reuse and extension of the existing buildings, as well as the construction of new ones, to create research and development laboratories, offices, retail spaces, and student accommodation. To prepare for the redevelopment project, Lothbury Investment Management, the previous owner of Clarendon Quarter, implemented a strategy to vacate most of the tenancies within the portfolio.
In 2022, the last year before this process began, the portfolio generated £2.9 million in annual rental income. At present, the portfolio produces approximately £1.2 million in annual rental income, a figure anticipated to decline by a further 50% in 2025 as additional tenancies are surrendered.
Goldmoney Properties has acquired the Clarendon Quarter properties from the Lothbury Property Trust, an open-ended property fund which has been in liquidation since May 2024. The total consideration including taxes, contingency payments, and professional fees is circa £29.5 million (approximately CAD $52.5 million). The acquisition is being financed through a combination of on-hand equity capital as well as circa £25 million (approximately CAD $44.5 million) of net new debt at the GPL level.
In connection with this acquisition, GPL has entered into a new financing agreement with Barclays PLC. Under the terms of the new financing arrangement, GPL has cross-collateralized its portfolio of pre-Clarendon Quarter assets obtaining up to £100 million of potential funding (CAD $178 million). The financing is comprised of a term loan and a revolving credit facility. The financing rate on this facility is SONIA as set by the Bank of England +1.8%, a slight decrease compared to GPL's previous mortgage debt. The loans within this financing arrangement mature in five years and are non-recourse to Goldmoney Inc.
On December 6, 2024, Goldmoney Properties utilised £47 million from this new financing arrangement. Of this figure, £21.6 million was used to fully repay the previous two mortgages within the GPL portfolio. The balance was used to fund the Clarendon Quarter acquisition. GPL intends to hedge the interest rate exposure on circa £20 million of this debt but cautions that this strategy may change depending on market conditions. With this additional debt, and when including the value of Clarendon Quarter at the acquisition price, the Loan-to-Value (LTV) Ratio of GPL's portfolio is circa 42%.
Statement from Roy Sebag, Founder and CEO of Goldmoney Inc.
'Nearly two years ago, we launched GPL with a vision to build a robust portfolio of prime assets delivering long-term, inflation-indexed income. Through strategic acquisitions, we have achieved this goal. With our latest acquisition, we have chosen to reinvest this income into an opportunity that presents a different balance of risk and reward.
This acquisition is not merely a financial decision but a commitment to something profoundly meaningful: the restoration of an irreplaceable part of Oxford's built environment. It is a once-in-a-century opportunity, and one that we approach with a deep sense of responsibility. Our mission is to transform the Clarendon Quarter into a landmark development that reflects Oxford's unique heritage.
Oxford's vibrant ecosystem of world-class academics and inquisitive visitors creates a setting where memory-making is intrinsic to the built environment. Here, one can touch history, embrace centuries-old traditions of learning and discovery, and forge lasting memories in culturally significant surroundings. By retaining and protecting the area's unique history, architecture, and heritage, we aim to develop a place where people can live, work, shop, and dine, all while engaging with the living history of Oxford.'
About Goldmoney Inc.
Founded in 2001, Goldmoney (TSX: XAU) is a TSX listed company invested in the real economy. The leading custodians and traders of precious metals, Goldmoney Inc. also owns and operates businesses in jewelry manufacturing and property investment. For more information about Goldmoney, visit goldmoney.com.
Media and Investor Relations inquiries:
Sean Ty
Chief Financial Officer
Goldmoney Inc.
+1 647 250 7098
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains or refers to certain forward-looking information. Forward-looking information can often be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "may", "potential" and "will" or similar words suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. All information other than information regarding historical fact, which addresses activities, events or developments that the Goldmoney Inc. believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, is forward-looking information. Forward-looking information does not constitute historical fact but reflects the current expectations the Company regarding future results or events based on information that is currently available. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking information will not occur. Such forward-looking information in this release speak only as of the date hereof.
Forward-looking information in this release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: the expected value and return on investment in the Company's real estate acquisitions, and the properties described herein (the "Properties") in particular, the ability of the current tenants on the Properties to meet their rental obligations, the future state of the Properties and the environment surrounding it, the ability of the Company to maintain and service the indebtedness incurred to acquire the properties, including any future refinancings, the ability of the Company to redevelop the properties as anticipated and, in general, return value from the Properties to shareholders. This forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time it was made, and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others: the global inflationary environment and its effect on real estate prices, interest rates, and the Properties in particular; the ability of the Company to integrate the Properties into its current operations; the anticipated value and income growth in connection with the Properties; the ability to maintain current and procure future commercial tenants for the Properties; the surrounding environment and infrastructure of the Properties remaining suitable; the ability to redevelop the Properties on terms which are economic or at all; the anticipated variable interest rate for the loan used to finance the acquisition of the Properties, and the effect on this interest rate from the SONIA as set by the Bank of England; the Company's operating history; history of operating losses; future capital needs and uncertainty of additional financing; fluctuations in the market price of the Company's common shares; the effect of government regulation and compliance on the Company and the industry; legal and regulatory change and uncertainty; jurisdictional factors associated with international operations; foreign restrictions on the Company's operations; product development and rapid technological change; dependence on technical infrastructure; protection of intellectual property; use and storage of personal information and compliance with privacy laws; network security risks; risk of system failure or inadequacy; the Company's ability to manage rapid growth; competition; the ability to identify opportunities for growth internally and through acquisitions and strategic relationships on terms which are economic or at all; effectiveness of the Company's risk management and internal controls; use of the Company's services for improper or illegal purposes; uninsured, uninsurable, and underinsured losses; theft & risk of physical harm to personnel; precious metal trading risks; and volatility of precious metals prices & public interest in precious metals investment; and those risks set out in the Company's most recently filed annual information form, available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, except as required by law.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/233237