Dividend Announcement and Rent Collection Update

BMO Commercial Property Trust Ltd - Dividend Announcement and Rent Collection Update

PR Newswire

London, December 2

To: Company AnnouncementsDate: 3 December 2020Company: BMO Commercial Property Trust LimitedLEI: 213800A2B1H4ULF3K397

Subject: Dividend Announcement and Rent Collection Update 

Interim Dividend

The Company today announces a monthly interim dividend in respect of the year ending 31 December 2020 at an increased rate of 0.35 pence per share. This is a 40 per cent increase on recent monthly interim dividends and equates to 70 per cent of the original monthly rate paid up until March 2020. This dividend will be a property income distribution.

The key dates for this interim dividend are as follows:

Ex-Dividend Date - 10 December 2020

Record Date - 11 December 2020

Payment Date - 31 December 2020

Rent collection statistics are set out below. Encouragingly they are ahead of the levels that were originally feared when the Board made the decision to suspend the dividend. As reported in October, new leases continue to be signed too and there is now a much clearer picture of the net rental profits that the Company will achieve for 2020. Notwithstanding recent announcements, the path of Covd-19 remains uncertain and economic challenges continue to grow. So, whilst the Company expects to continue to pay monthly dividends at this rate for the foreseeable future, which will ensure compliance with the REIT test to distribute 90 per cent of net rental profits, the Board will monitor rental receipts and earnings closely and keep it under review. 

Rent Collection

We summarise below our current rent collection outcome for Quarter 2 and 3 as well as providing an update on collection for Quarter 4. 

Quarter 2 and 3 Collection (billed between 26 March 2020 and 1 September 2020)

To date the Company has collected 85.1 per cent of the rents due for Quarter 2 and 85.9 per cent for Quarter 3. The combined collection statistics for the two quarters are as follows:

Collection by sector:

Breakdown of uncollected rent:

As highlighted in previous announcements the majority of the uncollected rent is in the retail and leisure sectors comprising shops, restaurants, a cinema and gym. £3.6m of the uncollected amount relates to St Christopher’s Place, Wimbledon Broadway and Newbury Retail Park. Although there is £2.6m of uncollected rent where there has yet to be a resolution, progress is being made and we are hopeful of reaching agreement with many tenants in the near future. There continues to be a minority of retailers who should be in a position to pay who are not engaging and the Company is in the process of taking further steps to encourage dialogue. Given the high-profile coverage of its administration, we can confirm that the portfolio has no exposure to Arcadia. There is also no exposure to Debenhams. 

Quarter 4 Collection (billed between 29 September 2020 and 1 December 2020)

The total quarterly rent demanded for Quarter 4 amounts to £16.2 million and collection is at 83.6 per cent (compared to 72.3 per cent after the equivalent number of days in quarter 3 and 99.3 per cent for the same period last year).

Collection by sector:

Breakdown of uncollected rent:

* tenants who have been billed for the quarter but are paying in monthly instalments.

The total rent collected is expected to increase further as monthly payments are received, and outstanding negotiations with tenants crystallise.

Important information

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Enquiries:Richard KirbyBMO REP Asset Management plcTel: 0207 499 2244Graeme CatonWinterflood Securities LimitedTel: 0203 100 0268