In QuotedData’s morning briefing 27 December 2024:
- Syncona Limited (SYNC) announced that its investment, Achilles Therapeutics, has sold its technology assets to AstraZeneca. Completion of this transaction signals the conclusion of its strategic review which was announced in September 2024. Achilles now plans to undertake additional measures, including a further reduction in employee headcount and a decrease in the size of its board of directors. As of 30 September 2024, Syncona’s holding value in Achilles was £8.5m, equating to 0.7% of Syncona’s NAV.
- Safestore (SAFE) has entered into a 50/50 joint venture with Nuveen Real Estate to acquire Easybox, Italy’s second largest self-storage operator by number of stores, for €175m. Safestore will initially invest €45m for its 50% share in the joint venture which has also been funded by joint venture level debt. The investment is estimated to have a negative earnings per share impact of 0.3p in FY25 and is expected to be EPS accretive in FY27 as the newly developed stores mature. The joint venture will acquire Easybox’s 10 stores and two turn-key developments, with a total leasable area of 780,000 sq ft (72,000 sqm). The stores are located across Italy’s main economic centres, including six stores in Milan, two in each of Turin and Rome and one store in each of Genoa and Florence.
