29th Sep 2020 09:46
(Alliance News) - Grainger PLC on Tuesday said its rental growth and collections remained strong despite the Covid-19 pandemic, due to a resilient business strategy.
The FTSE 250-listed residential landlord, ahead of its year-end on September 30, said rental growth remained strong at 3.0% year-to-date, with 2.5% growth in private rented sector homes and 4.7% growth in regulated tenancy portfolio.
Rent collections on time have remained "consistently high" at 95%, Grainger said, adding that vacant sales were "robust" with pricing 1.7% ahead of vacant possession values.
Occupancy rates in the company's private rented sector portfolio stood at over 95% year-to-date for financial 2020 versus 97% a year ago. August month occupancy was at 91%, down from 97% due to delays in the seasonal peak letting period caused by Covid-19.
Residential arrears remain low at 1.8% of gross rent, below the historical average.
Grainger said it is making a good progress on its development pipeline and has a "significant" liquidity position with GBP622 million of total headroom and no debt maturities until November 2022.
Chief Executive Officer Helen Gordon said: "Our balance sheet is strong, and we continue to deliver a good performance whilst growing our pipeline of PRS assets. Grainger is well placed to navigate any near-term economic uncertainty, continue its growth strategy and lead the way within the build to rent sector."
Shares in the company were down 2.9% at 296.60 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.
By Tapan Panchal; [email protected]
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