23rd Aug 2021 08:08
(Alliance News) - Shaftesbury on Monday said retail footfall and trading in London's theatre district is recovering and the shop and office landlord's operating environment has been improving since April.
Shaftesbury said West End footfall has recovered to 50% to 60% of pre-pandemic levels as Londoners, domestic day trippers and staycation visitors have returned in growing numbers.
The company said available-to-let vacancy at July 31 was 4.6%, down from 8.4% on March 31, which it described as an "encouraging pace" at which space continues to go under offer. Available-to-let vacancy fell further to 4.1% on August 13.
Shaftesbury noted hospitality and leisure demand improved over the period, reflecting confidence in the long-term prospects for West End locations. There was also healthy occupier interest for shops, including online retailers looking for physical space.
Shaftesbury said office enquiries, viewings and lettings continued at a steady pace as occupiers prepare for the return of workforces in the autumn.
Less positively, Shaftesbury's rent collection rates continued to show the impact of the pandemic on central London retailers. The landlord said it has collected 55% of contracted rent for July, which represented 62% of rent billed after accounting for waivers granted. Shaftesbury said it collected 51% of contract rent for the second quarter of 2021, up from just 40% for the first.
The company said it had GBP330.7 million in available liquidity as of June 30. It noted that the waiver of a GBP134.8 million term loan interest cover covenant was extended to January of next year from this past July.
Chief Executive Officer Brian Bicknell said: "The long-term curation we bring to our central, bustling villages, with its focus on differentiated, mid-market choices targeted primarily at a domestic audience, continues to attract both visitors and new occupiers. The progress we have seen towards a return to normal patterns of activity over the period, and improving medium-term prospects, have been catalysts for a strong recovery in confidence and leasing activity, both for commercial and residential accommodation across our locations.
"The momentum of the last four months is providing a sound platform for the continuing revival of the West End in the important months ahead, leading up to Christmas and into the New Year, and the prospects for a return to pre-pandemic patterns of life and activity."
Shaftesbury shares were up 0.5% early Monday.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.7% at 7,134.10
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Hang Seng: up 1.1% at 25,117.12
Nikkei 225: closed up 1.8% at 27,494.24
DJIA: closed up 225.96 points, or 0.7%, at 35,120.08
S&P 500: closed up 0.8% at 4,441.67
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 1.2% at 14,714.66
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EUR: up at USD1.1712 (USD1.1681)
GBP: up at USD1.3650 (USD1.3621)
USD: up at JPY109.92 (JPY109.81)
GOLD: up at USD1,785.30 per ounce (USD1,783.81)
OIL (Brent): up at USD66.61 a barrel (USD66.02)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
0930 CEST Germany flash purchasing managers' index
1000 CEST EU flash PMI
1600 CEST EU FCCI flash consumer confidence indicator
0930 BST UK flash manufacturing and services PMI
0945 EDT US flash manufacturing and services PMI
1000 EDT US existing home sales
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China reported no new domestic coronavirus cases Monday, and Beijing appears poised to bring to heel the pandemic's most serious resurgence in months – driven by the highly contagious Delta variant – with mass testing and targeted lockdowns. The latest outbreak, which began in mid-July when cleaners at a Nanjing airport tested positive, is the most severe since Covid-19 first surfaced in the central city of Wuhan. Over a thousand people have been infected across dozens of cities. But Communist authorities reacted with swift localised lockdowns, travel restrictions and mass testing of neighbourhoods with infections as part of their "zero case" approach to the pandemic, which has virtually sealed off China's borders but allowed the economy to rebound.
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New Zealand extended a national Covid-19 lockdown, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying a Delta variant outbreak has yet to peak. Ardern said the rapid spread of the highly transmissible variant meant it was too early to lift restrictions imposed last week after a virus cluster emerged in Auckland, ending a six-month run of no local cases. "Delta had a head start on us and we've needed to catch up as quickly as we could...we don't think we have reached the peak of this outbreak," she said. Ardern said 35 new cases had been detected, taking the total to 107, with more than 13,000 close contacts undergoing testing. New Zealand's lockdown was due to expire late Tuesday but Ardern said it would continue through to Friday nationwide and until the evening of August 31 in Auckland.
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Tropical storm Henri rocked the northeastern US with strong winds and rain as it made landfall on the coast of Rhode Island on Sunday. Henri sent lashing bands of rain westward, knocking out power to over 140,000 homes and causing deluges that closed bridges, swamped roads and left some people stranded in their vehicles. The storm was downgraded from a hurricane before reaching New England, leaving many to breathe a sigh of relief, but the National Hurricane Centre warned the slow-moving storm would continue dumping heavy rains on wide swaths of the region well beyond the weekend. Over two days, heavy, sustained rains flooded areas as far southwest as New Jersey, even as it took on tropical depression status. The storm threatened to stall near the New York-Connecticut border overnight, before pivoting east and moving out toward the Atlantic Ocean on Monday.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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JPMORGAN RAISES PEARSON TO 'OVERWEIGHT' (NEUTRAL) - PRICE TARGET 960 (840) PENCE
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DEUTSCHE BANK CUTS HARGREAVES LANDSDOWN TARGET TO 1590 (1730) PENCE - 'HOLD'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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WPP said it has acquired Satalia, a technology company offering artificial intelligence solutions for clients, for an undisclosed amount. The marketing firm highlighted that Satalia builds technologies that helps clients develop business strategies and improve operational efficiency. Satalia has clients include BT, DFS, DS Smith, PwC, Tesco and Unilever. In addition, WPP said Satalia Chief Executive Officer Daniel Hulme will become chief AI officer of WPP, working with WPP's chief technology officer and WPP agencies to promote artificial intelligence capabilities across the company and help shape WPP's AI strategy.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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easyJet said it has appointed Stephen Hester as a non-executive director and chair-designate. Hester will join the board on September 1 and succeed John Barton as chair on December 1. Barton will step down from the board having completed nearly nine years in the role. Hester served as CEO of state-backed lender Royal Bank of Scotland Group during the financial crisis, replacing Fred Goodwin who led the bank to the brink of collapse in 2008. Hester left RBS, since renamed NatWest Group, in 2013 and went on to lead RSA Insurance as CEO from February 2014 to May of this year. RSA was acquired for GBP7.2 billion by a two-headed consortium composed of Canada's Intact and Scandinavian insurer Tryg AS. The deal closed in June. Hester commented: "As a long-standing admirer of easyJet, and from my own experience as a customer, I am very excited to be joining the airline and look forward to playing my part in driving its continued success."
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Online marketplace Fruugo is eyeing up an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange as soon as this autumn, Sky News reported. Ulverston, Cumbria-headquartered Fruugo is working with brokers Panmure Gordon on a plan to join the growing number of technology firms listing in the City this year, Sky said. It was unclear how much Fruugo will seek to raise from a London listing, Sky said, although one insider said the company would likely get a valuation of "several hundred million pounds". Founded in 2006, Fruugo is a localised online marketplace where customers can buy products from retailers all around the world.
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COMPANIES - GLOBAL
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Bitcoin broke back above USD50,000 on Monday for the first time in three months as investors piled back into the cryptocurrency on bargain-buying. The unit climbed by about 2% to USD50,249, its highest since mid-May, when it began tumbling on a range of issues including China's crackdown on cryptocurrencies and Tesla boss Elon Musk's decision to stop accepting it on concerns about the environmental impact of mining. The electric car giant has since indicated its support for bitcoin, while several other high-profile investors including Twitter founder Jack Dorsey have also flagged their interest. PayPal Holdings said it will this week begin to allow users in Britain to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency through the online payment platform for the first time. Bitcoin, the most prominent cryptocurrency, has now risen more than 70% from the six-month lows below USD29,000 touched in June. Bitcoin is still for now a long way off its record just below USD65,000 that it achieved in April.
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Monday's Shareholder Meetings
IDE Group Holdings PLC - AGM
Renold PLC - AGM
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By Tom Waite; [email protected]
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