Generalist investor Ediston Property has reported an improved NAV in 2021 following a temporary switch in focus.
The group has reported a NAV total return of 9.6% for the year ended 30 September, up from -16.6% a year earlier. The total value of its portfolio increased by 5.3% on a like-for-like basis to £283.3m.
Chairman William Hill said: “With an improving NAV, an increased dividend level and significant progress in realigning the portfolio, the company is in a better position than last year, with its asset allocation already tilted to a segment of the market that is recovering strongly.”
He added: “This progress, which the board and investment manager are under no illusion are only steps in the right direction, has enabled the company to get back on to the front foot and to start implementing a refreshed investment strategy, with a focus on retail warehousing.”
Over the year the firm has sold a Tesco superstore in Prestatyn, Wales, and reinvested the proceeds into a retail warehouse park in Stirling, Scotland, and sold office buildings in Bath, Edinburgh and Newcastle for reinvestment into the retail warehousing sector.
Ediston said the improvement in values for the business had been driven by its retail warehouse portfolio, offsetting a decline in the value of the office portfolio.
Hill said while he expected to continue to invest in retail warehousing, enabling the business to fulfil its investment objective, the company “retains the ability to reposition into other property asses, when appropriate to do so, as part of the generalist investment objective”.
“The company will be active in the investment market over the coming months,” said Hill. “It will aim to build a resilient portfolio that can contribute to dividend growth, as well as providing opportunities for capital growth driven by the asset management activity of the investment manager. This is an exciting and critical phase in the company’s development.”
He added: “Much work lies ahead. We have in place a distinctive and clear investment strategy that is well on the way to being executed, a NAV which has been on an upward trajectory and increasing income. There is justification for the share price discount to close. Assuming other events do not work against us, there is a reasonable prospect that the company will not only deliver attractive returns for shareholders over the short to medium term but also to put itself in a position to grow its equity base and the returns from it.”
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