Winton announces IPO to raise up to $350 million; confirms cornerstone investor and over $300 million of committed proceeds

01/12/21

Winton, one of New Zealand’s largest and most experienced property developers, today lodged a Product Disclosure Statement for an Initial Public Offering of ordinary shares to raise up to $350 million and list on the main board of the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) and with a foreign-exempt listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Winton is a proven residential land developer that specialises in developing integrated and fully masterplanned communities, with 28 projects underway throughout New Zealand and one in Australia. The funds raised will be used primarily to provide additional equity funding to continue to execute on Winton’s growth strategy for both land development and retirement village operations. 

Winton also announces a commitment from Macquarie Asset Management, part of Macquarie Group, with one of its managed real estate vehicles committing to subscribe for $200 million of shares as part of the Offer. Post IPO, a representative from Macquarie Asset Management will join Winton’s Board of Directors. Additional commitments for over $100 million have also been received from high-net-worth investors. The balance will be raised from a Chairman’s List Offer available to selected investors nominated by Winton.

Chris Meehan, Winton CEO, said: “We are proud of the business we have created and the excellent team of people that have helped make Winton the high-performing company it is today. With the equity we will raise, we are excited to accelerate our growth plans into further land development of innovative residential communities and our premium Northbrook retirement offering.”

Under the Offer, Winton will issue up to 90 million new Shares (being up to 30.4% of the total Shares on issue immediately following the Offer) at an issue price of $3.8870 per Share. Following the Offer, there will be up to 296.6 million Shares on Offer and an implied market capitalisation of up to $1.15 billion. The Chairman’s List Offer is expected to open on 9 December 2021 and close on 12 December 2021. Winton expects to list on the NZX and ASX on 17 December 2021.

Winton’s current development pipeline includes 7,442 residential lots and dwellings, apartment units and retirement village units from existing projects – with $703 million of gross pre-sales secured as at 15 November 2021. Approximately 78% of the company’s forecast gross revenue for FY22F and FY23F periods is pre-sold, and 78% of development costs for FY22F and FY23F are currently under contract.

Mr Meehan concludes, “We have a fortress balance sheet and are well-positioned to continue to build the business, using strong cash reserves to capitalise on the growth opportunities that are in front of us.”

Winton operates with a conservative capital structure, using minimal debt, and as such some of the equity raised will be used to repay a project finance debt facility relating to one of Winton’s developments. Additionally, a portion of the proceeds from the Offer will be used to fund Offer costs.

Further details, including the PDS can be viewed at www.wintonshareoffer.co.nz

Grant Samuel acted as Financial Adviser, Chapman Tripp as New Zealand Legal Adviser, Mills Oakley as Australian Legal Adviser and KPMG as Investigating Accountant.

ENDS

 

Disclaimer

Winton Land Limited is the issuer of the shares to be issued under the offer to which this advertisement relates.  A product disclosure statement for the offer, which sets out the terms and conditions of the offer, is available, and can be obtained by visiting www.wintonshareoffer.co.nz. Nothing in this advertisement constitutes an invitation to subscribe for, or an offer of shares, securities or financial products to any person, in any country in which it would be unlawful to do so.

None of the entities referred to in this media release is an authorised deposit-taking institution for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959 (Commonwealth of Australia). The obligations of these entities do not represent deposits or other liabilities of Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542 (MBL). MBL does not guarantee or otherwise provide assurance in respect of the obligations of that entity.

 

About Winton

Winton is a residential land developer that specialises in developing integrated and fully masterplanned neighbourhoods. To date, Winton’s primary business has been developing and selling ‘lots’ of residential land and along with some land and building packages and apartment buildings.

Across Winton’s 13 masterplanned communities, Winton has a portfolio of 29 projects expected to yield a combined total of 7,442 residential lots, dwellings, apartment units, retirement village units and commercial lots. Six of these masterplanned communities are in the North Island, six in the South Island and one in NSW, Australia.

In 2018, Winton launched the retirement luxury living brand Northbrook to leverage existing expertise and capability in residential land acquisition and development to build and operate a premium retirement living business. Northbrook is led by ex-Summerset Group CEO Julian Cook and will be constructed within Winton’s existing and future masterplanned residential neighbourhoods, where there is a market for a premium retirement village offering. Winton is currently developing five retirement village projects, with the first retirement properties expected to be completed during 2024.