NewRiver REIT chief executive Allan Lockhart said the retail sector will “continue to face headwinds in the near-term, particularly in the department store and mid-market fashion sub-sectors”.
Lockhart said the REIT has consistently avoided these areas, focusing on “resilient” sub-sectors of food and grocery, discounters, value fashion, health and beauty, and community pubs.
The REIT posted retail occupancy of 95.5% in its third quarter update, down from 96.2% for the previous quarter. It attributed declines to JD Sports upsizing at Priory Meadow, Hastings, and the “modest impact” of retailer CVAs.
Average rents were £12.37 per sq ft, down from £12.48 per sq ft.
NewRiver signed 119 leasing deals in the quarter across 378,100 sq ft, with long-term deals at an average rent per sq ft of £14.61 (increased from previous rent of £13.14) and in line with September 2018 ERV.
It completed £23.9m of asset disposals at a net initial yield of 5.2% and completed £12m of acquisitions with a yield of 17.1%.
The third quarter dividend was up 3% to 5.4p per share, with a dividend for the financial year also up 3% to 16.2p per share. LTV of 35% is within the REIT’s guidance of less than 40%.
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