UK’s largest listed landlord, Grainger, boosted by higher wages and price rises as rental income rises to £48m
Grainger has said higher wages and prices have helped his finances after rental income rose in recent months.
The UK’s largest listed landlord saw rental income rise by 12 per cent to £48 million in the six months to the end of March.
The London-listed company’s adjusted profit rose 2 percent to £47.1 million over that period.
Boost: Grainger has said rising wages and higher prices have helped the bottom line
The group’s underlying rental growth amounted to 6.8 percent. The occupancy rate was 98.5 percent at the end of March.
But pre-tax profit fell 94 per cent to £5.7m after a 1.3 per cent valuation drop. In the first half of last year, the valuation rose by 2.3 percent.
Group CEO Helen Gordon said: ‘We continue to deliver strong consistent performance across the business.’
She added: “Our balance sheet is in a strong position with a low cost of debt tied up for six years, enabling us to deliver on our committed investment pipeline with protected returns.
“These plans will provide us with a doubling of EPRA revenue over the next four years, with our build-to-rent projects secured, financing secured and both construction and debt costs established over that period.
“In line with wage inflation, we achieved like-for-like rental growth of +6.8 percent, compared to 3.5 percent at this time last year.”
Gordon said the group was a “beneficiary” of rising prices and higher wages.
Grainger said: “Growing demand for rental properties and limited supply continue to work in our favor, particularly due to our mid-range pricing, energy-efficient properties and value-added services for our clients.”
Grainger shares rose today and rose 1.18 percent or 3.01 p this morning to 259.01 p, after falling about 7 percent over the past year.
The group increased its dividend by 10 percent to 2.28p per share, compared to 2.08p per share at the same point a year ago.
Grainger is partnering with Transport for London to build 1,240 new homes around the capital’s tube stations.
Analysts from Peel Hunt said Grainger’s latest update was “one of the most optimistic outlook in the industry.”
Looking ahead, Gordon said: ‘We are confident in the outlook for our business.
“With positive expectations for the occupancy market and rental growth, resilient valuations supported by strong active investor demand, and an institutional-host friendly investment landscape, the outlook for Grainger remains strong as we continue to lead the industry.”