16th Feb 2010 07:00
Wichford P.L.C.
("Wichford" or the "Company")
Interim Management Statement
16 February 2010
The Board of Wichford P.L.C., the property investment company, issues the following Interim Management Statement relating to the period ended 16 February 2010.
Property Portfolio
Acquisitions
The acquisitions of the Crescent Centre, Bristol and the two Driving Standards Agency ("DSA") Driving Centres in Uxbridge and Gillingham were previously announced on 20 January 2010.
Crescent Centre, Bristol
The Crescent Centre, Temple Back, Bristol was acquired from Henderson Global Investors for £14,000,000 reflecting a net initial yield of 7.89%. The property has 4,058 sq ft of space vacant and available to let with 1,622 sq ft now under offer.
DSA Driving Centres, Uxbridge and Gillingham
Further to the acquisition announcement on 20 January 2010, Gillingham completed on 29 January 2010. Uxbridge is expected to reach practical completion before the end of May 2010.
Gillingham and Uxbridge are both let on forty year leases to the Driving Standards Agency with tenant break options in year 15 and 20 respectively. The total acquisition price of £9,337,000 reflects a blended net initial yield of 5.92%.
All three acquisitions will form part of the Core portfolio as their weighted average unexpired lease terms are in excess of seven years.
Lettings & Occupancy
The portfolio's occupancy rate remained above 99% as at the date of the announcement.
At the Crescent Centre, Bristol, heads of terms have been agreed with an existing tenant for letting an additional 1,622 sq ft for five years subject to three months rent free as well as a five year lease extension on 1,632 sq ft of space (on existing terms). Heads of terms have also been agreed for a direct lease with an existing sub-tenant for a further two years. Securing these lettings and lease extensions will be a positive step toward enhancing the value and cash flow of this recently acquired property.
A new 13 year lease with a break option in March 2018 has been agreed with Trillium Prime Properties at Newington Causeway, London extending the unexpired lease term by 7.3 years. The lease is subject to a 27 month rent free period.
It has been agreed that tenant break clauses at Hartlepool (November 2011) and Billingham (February 2011) are to be removed and replaced with break options in March 2018 extending the unexpired lease terms of these properties by 6.4 and 7.1 years respectively and moving these properties into the Core portfolio. The extensions are subject to capital contributions equivalent to 24 months rent.
Cash Position
As at the date of the announcement, and after allowing for the final dividend payment, the Company had approximately £57.0 million available for acquisitions in addition to those detailed above, comprising available cash balances and cash on deposit to be released following the completion of various substitutions.
Debt Facilities Update
Wichford has made good progress with regard to its debt facilities in the period under review.
Delta and Gamma Facilities
As part of the overall strategy to increase the WAULT, the Crescent Centre, Bristol has been pledged to the Zeta facility releasing funds held as collateral from properties that were sold and the three properties (St Helens, Watford and Redcar) that were released from the Zeta facility and are in the process of being substituted into the Gamma and Delta facilities.
It is intended that Gillingham and Uxbridge (subject to practical completion) will be pledged to the Delta facility as substitute properties which will assist in raising the WAULT of this facility.
The Company is in negotiations on a number of acquisitions of properties with long-dated leases. Further acquisitions will be announced as and when they complete.
VBG1
As previously announced on 1 February 2010, two of the Company's German subsidiaries have entered into a standstill agreement until Friday 19 March 2010 with the Servicer of the VBG1 Loan. The Company remains confident that an agreement which is beneficial to both the Lender and Borrower can be achieved.
Board Appointments
As previously announced on 12 February 2010, Mark Sheardown has been appointed as Non-executive Director to the Board of Wichford P.L.C. Mark has over thirty years of experience in real estate covering property development and investment into real estate occupied by government-backed entities, primarily the NHS funded primary health care sector. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Overhead Costs
The program of re-tendering and re-negotiating existing service contracts has made substantial progress since the financial year end. Following negotiations with all key advisers and service providers, the Company is positive that the targeted reduction in ongoing overheads of £750,000 p.a. will be achieved. The reduction in the management fee has been implemented from 1 October generating a saving of approximately £500,000 p.a.
Dividend
The Company's shares went ex-dividend on 3 February 2010. The final dividend of 0.31 pence per share will be payable on 1 March 2010.
Outlook
The number of investment opportunities has improved in the last quarter, however the market remains highly competitive for long-dated secure income streams including government let property, as demonstrated by the evidence of prime yields hardening. As a result of the positive yield shift, the Directors believe that the value of the Company's UK portfolio has increased since last reported.
The Company's immediate focus remains securing appropriate long-dated leases to enable the extension of the Delta and Gamma facilities and resolution of the VBG1 facility negotiations.
Philippe de Nicolay, Chairman of Wichford commented:
"Wichford continues to make steady progress with its property portfolio and debt facilities. We are investing the proceeds of the rights issue and property sales into new properties that will assist us with the WAULT and the extension of our major UK debt facilities. There are an increasing number of opportunities in the market and, although competition is increasing, we have already shown this year that we are able to add new income streams to our high-quality portfolio."
For further details, please contact,
Wichford P.L.C. |
|
Philippe de Nicolay |
00 33 1 40 74 42 79 |
Wichford Property Management Ltd |
|
Michael Watters |
020 7811 0100 |
Philip Cooper |
020 7495 7111 |
Stephen Oakenfull |
020 7811 0100 |
Citigate Dewe Rogerson |
020 7638 9571 |
George Cazenove |
|
Kate Lehane |
|
Wichford P.L.C. (UK Listed: WICH) is a property investment company, with a portfolio focused on investment property occupied exclusively by Central and State Government bodies. Approximately a quarter of the portfolio comprises public sector rented properties in France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Related Shares:
RDI.L