Become a Member
  • Track your favourite stocks
  • Create & monitor portfolios
  • Daily portfolio value
Sign Up
Quickpicks
Add shares to your
quickpicks to
display them here!

Net Asset Value(s)

12th Feb 2015 07:00

UK COMMERCIAL PROPERTY TRUST LIMITED - Net Asset Value(s)

UK COMMERCIAL PROPERTY TRUST LIMITED - Net Asset Value(s)

PR Newswire

London, February 11

12 February 2015 UK Commercial Property Trust Limited ("UKCPT" or the "Company") Net Asset Value/ Trading Statement For the three month period from 1 October 2014 to 31 December 2014 STRONG NAV GROWTH AND POSITIVE PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY UK Commercial Property Trust Limited (LSE: UKCM), the largest Guernsey based,London listed, UK focused commercial property trust, today provides its TradingStatement for the three months to 31 December 2014 and unaudited quarterly NetAsset Value ("NAV") as at 31 December 2014. Key Highlights * 2.9% increase in NAV per share* as at 31 December 2014 to 83.0p (30 September 2014: 80.7p); * 3.2% increase in portfolio valuation over the quarter to £1,272.3million before capital expenditure and stamp duty, ahead of IPD Balanced Monthly & Quarterly Funds benchmark ("IPD") of 2.8%; * Total return over the quarter of 4.0% and total return for the whole of 2014 of 18.4%, compared to IPD equivalents of 4.1% and 17.4% respectively; * Positive performance driven by the Company's Central London Office and South East Industrial assets plus valuation uplifts in recently completed/ acquired assets at Aberdeen and Dartford and as a result of successful asset management initiatives; * Key portfolio activity during the quarter: + Acquisition of Site D1 at Aberdeen Gateway plus completion of forward funding at Site A.The combined valuation of the entire Aberdeen project is £48.7 million, 5% above cost; + Partial completion of the purchase of Regent Circus, Swindon, increasing the Company's exposure to the favoured leisure sector; + Purchase of Unit 12 Newton's Court, Dartford which complements the existing Dartford holding and has provided significant marriage value; + Sale of two small offices in Bristol for £3.6million, above valuation and in-line with portfolio strategy of selling small assets with limited return prospects; + Post quarter end, successful sales of Pall Mall Court, Manchester and the Sovereign Centre, Weston-super-Mare for a combined £49.4million, both sales being at December valuations and in-line with Company's portfolio strategy. * Void level of 2.6% as at 31 December 2014, significantly below the IPD figure of 6.8%; * Issue of 32.6 million shares, raising proceeds of £26.9million at a premium to ex-dividend NAV of 4.7%, providing the Company with further resources to invest in the portfolio; * The Company's Investment Manager Ignis Fund Managers Limited (a Standard Life Investments ('SLI') company) has advised the Board of the resignation of Robert Boag and recommended to the Board the appointment of Will Fulton to lead the team dedicated to the management of the Company's portfolio. * After careful consideration the Board have concluded that Mr Fulton has the appropriate experience and expertise to lead the property management team and therefore has agreed to his appointment. Christopher Hill, Chairman of the Company, commented: "This quarter has seen the Company produce another strong performance driven byrobust capital growth. The stable financial position of theCompany hasofferedgreater flexibility in terms of the portfolio strategy and provides a strongplatform to allow the Company to continue to pursue income focusedacquisitions, which we believe will continue to provide investors with a strongand sustainable return. "We have taken full advantage of the strong investment sentiment in both theregional office and secondary shopping centre markets and, through the disposalof assets such as Pall Mall Court, Manchester and The Sovereign ShoppingCentre, Weston-super-Mare, we were able to achieve an overall sale price aheadof September valuation. This has released equity for future revenue focusedacquisitions and income enhancing initiatives, in line with our wider strategy. "We also completed the contracted acquisitions announced earlier in the year atAberdeen and Swindon, in addition to supplementing an existing asset with asolus unit at Newton's Court, Dartford, a successful asset managementinitiative which provided significant marriage value. The Board is sorry that Robert Boag has decided to seek other opportunities. Wewish to thank him sincerely for his significant contribution to the success ofthe Company. Robert has been involved in the management of UK CommercialProperty Trust since its formation in 2006 and was appointed lead manager in2009. Much of the success of the Company has resulted from his conscientiousapproach and patient leadership and we wish him well in the future. Having overseen the successful transition of the Company's portfolio onto SLI'splatform, Mr Boag will leave SLI at the end of April 2015. Until then he and MrFulton will work closely together in order to achieve a smooth handover ofproperty management. On Robert's departure, Mr Fulton will assume the role of named individual fundmanager wholly dedicated to UKCPT. He has 27 years' experience in UK andcontinental European commercial real estate markets, across a variety ofdifferent real estate funds, and has been the fund manager of the Standard LifeHeritage With Profits Fund's £2.3 billion real estate portfolio for the last 4years. We are confident that the transfer of management and administration issubstantially complete and the Board is reassured by the depth of resourceprovided by SLI." Breakdown of NAV movement Set out below is a breakdown of the change to the unaudited Net Asset Value pershare calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS")over the quarter from 1 October 2014 to 31 December 2014. The property portfoliohas been externally valued by CBRE. UK Commercial Property Per Share Attributable CommentTrust (p) Assets (£m)Limited Net assets as at 1 October 80.7 1,022.82014 Unrealised increase in 2.9 37.3 Increase of 3.2% in quartervaluation of property on both existing andportfolio acquired assets before capital expenditure Stamp duty costs on (0.2) (2.1) At Swindon and Dartfordpurchases Capital expenditure during (0.3) (4.4) Principally relates tothe period acquisition costs on purchases plus expenditure on asset management initiatives Share Issuance in the 0.1 26.9 NAV accretive issue ofperiod 32.6million shares Income earned for the 1.3 17.5 Equates to dividend cover ofperiod 104% for the quarter Expenses for the period (0.4) (5.4) Dividend paid on 28 (0.9) (11.7)November 2014 Interest rate swaps mark to (0.2) (2.0) Increase in swap liabilitiesmarket revaluation as interest rate expectations affected by Eurozone issues and falling oil price Net assets as at 31 83.0 1,078.9December 2014 \* The NAV per share is calculated under IFRS and is unaudited. It includes allcurrent period income and is calculated after the deduction of all dividendspaid prior to 31 December 2014. It does not include provision for any unpaiddividends relating to periods prior to 31 December 2014 i.e. the proposeddividend for the period to 31 December 2014. The NAV per share at 31 December 2014 is based on 1,299,412,465 shares of 25peach, being the total number of shares in issue at that time. The EPRA NAV (IFRS NAV but excluding swap liabilities) is 83.7p Net Asset Analysis as at 31 December 2014 £m % Property Portfolio Retail 565.8 52.4 Office 281.9 26.1 Industrial 332.2 30.8 Leisure 92.4 8.6 Total Property Market Value 1,272.3 117.9 Adjustment for lease incentives (7.1) (0.6) Fair Value of Property Portfolio 1,265.2 117.3 Net Current Assets 50.9 4.7 Loan facilities (incl swap liabilities) (237.2) (22.0) Total Net Assets as at 31 December 2014 1,078.9 100.0 Economic and Property Market Review The economic fundamentals supporting the UK economy remain robust withconsensus growth forecasts of around 2.6% in 2015. Strong new business flows,the promise of a boost to demand from the slump in oil prices, stable interestrates in a low inflationary environment and evidence of an upbeat mood amongstconsumers augurs well for 2015 although this may be tempered by the imminentgeneral election and continuing travails of the Eurozone.The UK commercialproperty sector has been a key beneficiary of these factors, as total returnsfor the quarter to end December reached 4.1% as measured by the IPD Quarterlyand Monthly benchmark, with a total return for the whole of 2014 of 17.4%. Over the quarter, capital values grew by 2.8%, in the main still driven by yieldcompression as the sector continues to attract a large amount of capital fromboth foreign and domestic participants. Rental growth continues to improve on aquarterly basis with rents expected to pick up further into the recovery cycle.In the final quarter of the year, rents rose by 1.0%. UK investment reached £59.6billion in 2014, up 18% and the highest level sincethe financial crisis, boosted by a 41% increase in regional investment to£21.1 billion. Whilst every region outside London showed positive investmentgrowth on 2013, demand for Central London remains very strong, with the fourthquartershowing double the investment volume of quarter three. Although overseasinvestors remain the largest buyers, with US investment doubling year-on-yearand interest from Asia also increasing, UK institutions are the principalinvestors in the regions. Portfolio Performance The external portfolio valuation as at 31 December 2014 is £1,272.3 million, anincrease of 3.2% (excluding capital expenditure and stamp duty on purchases) onthe quarter (Q3 2014: 3.1%) which is ahead of the IPD benchmark capital returnof 2.8%.The table below sets out the capital value movements in each of themain sub-sectors. Portfolio Exposure as at Capital Value Capital Value Value 31 Shift Shift as at 31 Dec Dec (£m) 2014 (£m) 2014 (%) (%) External 1,175.5Valuation as at30 Sep 2014 Retail 565.8 44.5 2.0 11.0 High St - South 9.3 1.6 1.9East High St- Rest of 2.1 0.0 0.0UK Shopping Centres 11.0 3.1 4.2 Retail Warehouse 22.1 1.8 4.9 Offices 273.8 21.5 3.7 9.9 West End 10.9 5.0 6.6 South East 1.7 0.0 0.0 Rest of UK 8.9 2.9 3.3 Industrial 283.1 22.3 4.1 11.2 South East 15.5 4.6 8.7 Rest of UK 6.8 3.0 2.5 Leisure/Other 58.8 4.6 0.0 0.0 Purchase of 48.7 3.8 5.0 26.1Aberdeen Gateway Purchase of Unit 8.5 0.7 50.4 8.512,Newton's Court,Dartford Purchase of 33.6 2.6 0.0 33.6Regent'sCircus, Swindon Sale of - - - -3.5WCA/FreshfordHouse, Bristol External 1,272.3 100.0 3.2 1,272.3valuation at31 Dec 14 Industrial The best performing sector for the second consecutive quarter was Industrialwith a total return of 6.0% (IPD:5.5%), supported by a 4.6% capital increase.Thisis a direct consequence of the strong investor demand which still pervades thesector, resulting in improved yields for South East industrial estates inparticular in addition to Greater London industrials. The Company`s Dartford and Dolphin Industrial Estates benefited from this yieldimprovement with Dartford also benefiting from the acquisition of Unit 12,Newton`s Court which was revalued as part of the Newton's Court Estate at avalue significantly ahead of the purchase price. The inclusion of No 12 and theimprovement in the overall yield for the Estate resulted in a double digitincrease in value over the September valuation and Unit 12 purchase pricecombined. The successful asset managementwork achieved throughout the year inletting the vacant industrial units at Dolphin Estate, Sunbury has alsoprovided a platform for a similar level of increase in value over the quarter. Outside the South East, the Company`s regional industrial portfolio also made astrong contribution to performance with the valuation of all three recentacquisitions at Aberdeen Gateway at the end of December showing an increase of5%above purchase cost. Emerald Park, Bristol also benefited from an uplift invaluation from asset management over the quarter with more anticipated in thefirst quarter of 2015. Offices Offices were the next best performer with a value increaseof 3.7% to produce anoverall total return of 5.0% (IPD:5.5%). The Company`s Central London offices provided a strong 5.0% increase in valuewith evidence of further increase in rents for West End (Soho) assets in partcrystallised by the lease renewal with Sony at No 15 Great Marlborough Street.Investment demand also continues to be strong in the regions with up to 25bpyield improvement on those assets showing strong income characteristics. Theoffice portfolio outsideLondon and the South East improved in value by 3.0%. Retail The Company`s Retail Portfolio produced an overall total return of 3.3% (IPD:2.7%),with all sub sectors improving or holding value. The retail high street and shopping centre portfolio grew in value by 2.2% overthe quarter in response to an improving investor market for prime and goodsecondary assets in this sector. Divergence within the sector remains, with our South East high street retailassets providinga 1.6% increase, in contrast to valuations for the rest of UKhigh street which were flat, although this is better explained by the shortlease length on the two principal assets for that sector. In both cases theCompany is confident of retaining the existing tenants on satisfactory termswhich should improve values. The combined value of the Company`s three shopping centres at Shrewsbury hasbeen maintained as work continues to build income. The Parade, Swindonbenefited from yield improvement as a result of the low level of voids as wellas the healthy tenant line up and income characteristics, although there ispotential for further upside should additional asset management initiatives berealised. The Sovereign Centre, Weston-super-Mare, which was sold in January2015, is included at the agreed sale price less costs. Shopping Centres overallproduced a positive capital increase of 3.1%. Retail Warehouses performed well but with a more modest increase of 1.8%,benefiting from marginal improvement in yields for the Bulky Goods parks. Leisure There was no change in the value of our holdings in this sector; the Rotundavaluation was unchanged from September while Regent Circus, Swindon, isincluded at the purchase price less rent free periods, retentions and capitalcontributions. The remaining commitment at Regent Circus (c.£4.7million) willbe paid when the leases for the car park and Unit 7/8 are completed, whichshould be in Q1 2015. Sales InOctober 2014 the Company completed the sale of the two leasehold officebuildings at Freshford and WCA House, Bristol to a UK institutional fund at aprice of £3.6 million, marginally ahead of the September valuation. Combined,these assets were the smallest in the portfolio andthe sale was in line withthe Company`s strategy to reduce exposure to those assets with shorter incomeand limited overall return prospects. Strategy implementation was also evident following the period end, with thesale of the Pall Mall Court office building in Manchester in January for£19.5 million and the sale of The Sovereign Shopping Centre, Weston-super-Marefor £29.9 million. Having successfully completed a number of asset managementinitiatives on both assets, the Company took advantage of the strong investmentsentiment in both the regional office and secondary shopping centre market toreduce its overall exposure to both sectors and achieve an overall sale priceahead of their combined September 2014 valuation. The net proceeds of thesesales will be recycled into further prime, revenue focused acquisitions andincome enhancing asset management initiatives in line with the Company'sstrategy. Purchases The final quarter of the year was an active one for the Company as it completedon the contracted acquisitions announced earlier in the year at Aberdeen andSwindon and also supplementedan existing asset with the acquisition of a solusunit at Newton's Court in Dartford. In October, the Company completed the acquisition of Site D, Aberdeen Gatewayfor £10.6 million. As previously reported, the 60,000 sq.ft. warehouse and officefacility is fully let on a 20year lease. Also in Aberdeen Gateway, the Company completed the forward funding of the180,000 sq.ft. warehouse facility at Site A following the practical completionof that development and the completion of a 25year lease to Total (E&P) Ltd. The Company`s ownership in Aberdeen now extends to three predominantlyindustrial properties totalling 265,000 sq.ft, all fully let to sound, securecovenants on leases with a 19 year average weighted unexpired lease length andwith provision for fixed guaranteed uplifts offering some inflation protectionover the lease term.The total commitment (before stamp duty and costs) was£46.4 million which generates a net income yield of 6.3% on the total income of£3.0 million; this represents a significant margin to South East Englandindustrial yields for similar quality stock. Notwithstanding the recent volatility in the oil market, the Company issatisfied that theinvestment in Aberdeen, given the location,specification,long-term income characteristics and, in particular, the strongoccupier profile, will support the Company`s income objective over the longterm. On 16 December,the Company completed the freehold purchase of the 97,000 sq.ft.leisure and supermarket development at Regent Circus, Swindon. Let to Morrisons,Cineworld, Zizzi, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Nando's amongst others, the natureof the development is such that the Company will meet the total commitment of£40.3 million in phases with a payment of £35.6 million made in December. Aspreviously reported, the total income on completion will be £1.9 million, withan average lease length of 18 years 8 months. The Cineworld lease also benefitsfrom fixed guaranteed uplifts. In the final acquisition of the year, the Company paid £5.65 million on a saleand lease back basis for a 71,000 sq.ft. industrial unit at Unit 12 Newton`sCourt, Dartford, let to Compagnie Fruitier. The purchase of this unitcomplements the Company`s existing larger ownership within the Estate. Voids The Company's void position as at 31 December 2014 was 2.6%, compared to 3.1%in September 2014. Allowing for tenant failures through administrations, thevoid rate could increase to 3.1%. However, it should be highlighted thatadministrations do not always equate to a loss in income or value and bothfigures remain comfortably below the IPD benchmarkvoid rate of 6.8% Gearing & Cash As at 31 December 2014, gross gearing was 17.5% (gross borrowings excludingswaps divided by total assets less current liabilities excluding loanfacilities) which remains the lowest in the Company's peer group. Net gearing(borrowings excluding swaps less cash divided by total assets less currentliabilities and cash) was 13.3%. The Company is currently in advancednegotiations to re-finance the £80 million Lloyds facility that is due to expirein June 2015 and expects to be able to make an announcement on this in the nearfuture. As at 31 December 2014, the Company had £63.4 million of cash. Aggregating the£49.4 million sales completed post year end, the Company has significantresources available for prime, revenue focused acquisitions and assetmanagement initiatives. Market Outlook and Forecast Recovery continues to materialise strongly in the UK commercial real estatesector with prices maintaining reasonable acceleration and rents gatheringfurther momentum. In the favourable environment of improving confidence andreducing void rates, investors are allocating more capital to the sector andconsequently, given the increased weight of capital, risk appetite isincreasing. In terms of outlook, our Investment Manager expects positive total returns forinvestors on a three year hold period due to the strong income component andfurther modest capital appreciation. The sector remains attractive from afundamental point of view with strengthening economic drivers and a limitedpipeline of developments. Eurozone deflation and the forthcoming UK generalelection are immediate risks, although there is a reasonable buffer in pricingto compensate, particularly as the prospects for any rise in interest ratesseems to have abated for the moment. The retail sector continues to face a series of headwinds that may hold backrecovery in weaker locations due to oversupply and structural issues, but theprospects for retail towards the South East and Central London are expected toimprove further as the economic recovery gains more traction. Opportunities arearising in the transactions market for goodquality secondary buildings wherethese assets can be repositioned as prime. There is also likely to be a furtherrebound for secondary asset prices due to the elevated margin in pricingbetween prime and secondary reducing as risk appetite improves. In the longterm, however, poorer quality secondary assets remain unattractive at a broadlevel, although there will be opportunities for repositioning assets orgenerating reasonably good returns on a comparable basis from some poorerquality secondary assets. Given the Company`s income objective, however, thisis seen as an opportunity to dispose of certain assets which do not meet theCompany`s criteria and performance expectations. We expect location choices and a continued focus on property fundamentals to bethe defining characteristics contributing to returns over 2015. Prime/goodquality secondary assets as well as selective poorer quality secondary assetsin stronger locations are likely to provide the best opportunities in therobust economic environment we anticipate over 2015. The Board is not aware of any other significant events or transactions whichhave occurred between 31 December 2014 and the date of publication of thisstatement which would have a material impact on the financial position of theCompany. Enquiries Robert Boag / Graeme McDonald, Standard Life InvestmentsTel: 0131 245 3272 /0131 245 3151 Edward Gibson-Watt / Oliver Kenyon, J.P. Morgan CazenoveTel: 020 7742 4000 Richard Sunderland /Claire Turvey/Clare Glynn, FTI ConsultingTel: 020 3727 1000 The above information is unaudited and has been calculated by Standard LifeInvestments.

Further information can be found on the Company'swebsite at www.ukcpt.co.uk.


Related Shares:

UKCM.L
FTSE 100 Latest
Value8,417.34
Change2.09