- During 2019, Pei, the leading real estate investment vehicle in Colombia, surpassed 6 trillion pesos in assets under management, closing the period with 982,000 m2 of leasable area and 1,525 tenants represented in more than 2,000 contracts.
- The eleventh and largest Equity Securities Issuance in Pei’s history was carried out, for COP 816,500 million, with a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.7 times.
- In the second half of the year, Pei placed its Second Ordinary Bonds Issuance for COP 500,000 MM, exceeding the offered amount by 1.6 times and bringing its total Ordinary Bonds placed to one trillion pesos.
Bogotá. Pei Asset Management, Pei’s real estate manager, held the first 2020 teleconference for Pei Investors, presenting the 2019 results.
The call was led by Jairo Corrales, President of PEI Asset Management, and Jimena Maya, Investor Relations Manager, who covered the most relevant topics of 2019, including: management and stabilization of the asset portfolio, the Eleventh Equity Securities Issuance, and the Second Ordinary Bonds Issuance of 2019.
Regarding asset management
Emphasis was placed on the ability to renew and retain tenants, pursuing long-term contracts and relationships in a year that presented challenges for the vehicle related to the first contract expirations reaching the 10-year mark.
Second, the Eleventh Equity Securities Issuance was highlighted, carried out in June for 816,500 million pesos — the largest issuance offered to the market to date — which achieved 1.71 times oversubscription and through which Pei welcomed more than 1,000 new investors.
In the Second Ordinary Bonds Issuance
Carried out in November for 500,000 million pesos, it was noted that with this issuance Pei reached a total of 1 trillion pesos in Ordinary Bonds placed in the Colombian market. The issuance, oversubscribed 1.6 times, offered short- and medium-term series at fixed and CPI-indexed rates, under conditions that helped enhance the vehicle’s returns.
Financial debt
At year-end, it stood at COP 1.54 bn with an average cost of 7.07% EA, down 18 bps from the prior year. This was due to the implementation of capital-structure strategies such as the issuance of Securities, Bonds, and new credit lines, which have allowed for more competitive rates. As a result, the vehicle reached a leverage level of 24% of assets.
It is worth noting that Pei surpassed 6 trillion pesos in assets under management, closing the year with 982,000 m2 under management and 1,525 tenants represented in more than 2,000 contracts.
During this period, 3 new assets joined the portfolio: the Nuestro Cartago shopping center, the second Nuestro-brand mall, which joined the portfolio with occupancy above 90%; the first specialized healthcare-sector asset, the built-to-suit Sanitas Tequendama in the city of Cali; and an additional floor in the One Plaza building in the city of Medellín.
The teleconference also highlighted the acquisitions made in early January 2020, which brought leasable area past the one-million-square-meter mark, thanks to the acquisition of 33% of Atrio’s North Tower in Bogotá and the acquisition of the remaining stake in the Plaza Central shopping center, consolidating full ownership of the asset.
Regarding Security liquidity, average daily trading volume was COP 3,291 million. Additionally, over the course of the year the vehicle reached 4,453 investors.
Regarding the vehicle’s returns
The dividend yield stood at 5.25%, and 12-month returns were 9.8% EA, remaining above market returns.
Finally, the call closed with a Q&A session with investors, addressed by the Pei Asset Management team.