Supermarket Income REIT’s portfolio value shot up in the second half of last year, as it made a series of acquisitions to capitalise on the grocery sector’s pandemic surge.
The investment trust said that after an independent valuation its direct portfolio totalled £885.3m, an increase of £345.9m for the six months to 31 December.
Around £314m of that growth was through acquisitions, while the remaining £31.9m was from valuation growth, indicating a like-for-like increase of 5.5% for the portfolio over the period.
That meant that Supermarket Income REIT investors enjoyed a 3% increase in EPRA net tangible assets to 104p per share. The portfolio’s net initial yield fell to 4.7% from 5% over the six-month period.
Supermarket Income REIT chairman Nick Hewson said: “The last 12 months have highlighted the critical role of grocery property in the UK’s feed-the-nation infrastructure.
“Our supermarkets play a key role in supporting the response of the UK grocery sector to the pandemic and as a result we have experienced strong property investor interest in our market and consequently a tightening of yields.”
The interim results come after a year in which grocery sales rose by more than 10% as consumers leaned heavily on supermarkets during successive lockdowns.
The REIT said it had bought 13 supermarkets over the period, with a handful of further acquisitions this year, which did not register on the interim balance sheet but were valued at £119.6m.
As a result of the growth, rental income was £20.4m over the six months, compared with £11.9m for the same period in 2019.
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