Strong rent collection for specialist property investor
Rent collection remains “strong” at specialist property investor Warehouse REIT, underpinning its performance which enabled it to pay dividends as it forecast.
The AIM-listed business has a Chester base and counts Midpoint 18 in Middlewich and Nexus in Knowsley among its largest assets. It has so far collected 97% of rent due from its June and September quarters and 93% of the December quarter, when a small amount of deferred staged payments are included.
It said “market conditions remain highly favourable, with strong occupational demand underpinned by growth in e-commerce and continued constrained supply”.
Warehouse REIT has seen a 6.6% like-for-like increase in its portfolio, which has 94% occupancy.
Neil Kirton, chairman of Warehouse REIT, said: “This was an important period for the group, with our excellent rent collection performance demonstrating once again the strength of our relationships with our occupiers.
“At the same time, we have continued to successfully implement our strategy, which enables us to create value through acquisition and hands-on asset management. We are well placed for further progress in the second half.”
It has paid or declared dividends of 3.1p per share, slightly more than a year earlier, and in line with its 6.2p target for the full year.
In June it raised £153m in a share placing, having postponed an equity raise in March when Covid-19 hit the markets.
