23rd May 2019 12:17
LONDON (Alliance News) - Regional REIT Ltd on Thursday said it expects to return to a fully covered dividend in 2019 and declared an increased first quarter dividend.
The real estate investment trust said its trading in 2019 so far has been in line with management expectations, and so the company is confident it will resume a fully covered dividend for the year.
To this end, Regional REIT has declared a dividend for the three months to March 31 of 1.90 pence per share, up 2.7% from 1.85 pence per share the year before. This 1.90p dividend is one of three for the year to be paid at approximately the same level, before a final fourth dividend "to at least manage compliance with the REIT distribution requirement".
In 2019 to date, Regional REIT has exchanged 19 new leases totalling 116,443 square feet which, fully occupied, will provide around GBP800,000 per annum of rental income. Capital expenditure so far has been GBP2.2 million.
As at March 31, core and core plus offices represented 77% of the trust's portfolio by value, up from 76% at the end of 2018 while industrial sites accounted for 15% versus 15.5% on December 31.
EPRA occupancy was 88.6% compared to 89.4% at the end of 2018 and like-for like occupancy was 88.3% versus 89.4%.
Net loan-to-value ratio was around 40%, up from 38% and gross borrowings totalled GBP340.3 million with cash and cash equivalent balances of GBP42.6 million.
"The potential deal pipeline is considerable and diverse. As announced on the May 17, 2019, the company is considering an equity fundraise to ensure that we best take advantage of the growing near-term pipeline of opportunities for the benefit of our shareholders. We continue to identify strong buying opportunities and look forward to updating shareholders on further value-enhancing investment, asset and portfolio management activities," said Stephen Inglis, chief executive of Regional REIT asset manager London & Scottish Property Investment Management Ltd.
Shares in Regional REIT were down 0.5% at 106.26 pence on Thursday.
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