FINANCE: Residential owner and developer Grainger made a profit of £71m from sales in the ten months to 30 July, a 20.3% increase from the same period last year.
Margins on vacant sales were 48.6% during the period, and prices have been 12.7% above September 2013 vacant possession value.
Gross rents generated £47.3m, compared with £61.4m for the corresponding period in 2013 owing to a number of asset sales last year.
Group LTV is around 50%, based on a March 2014 portfolio valuation. Grainger plans to stay within a target LTV range of 45-50% over the coming year, this morning’s IMS said.
The company will have £265m to spend on further acquisitions once last week’s tap issue of £75m of six-year corporate bonds completes on 7 August.
Chief executive Andrew Cunningham said that dampening sentiment in the housing market as a result of measures taken by the Bank of England to rein in mortgage lending had “not yet had a significant, sustained impact” on the market beyond expected seasonal variations.
Grainger anticipates “a continuation of the outperformance of our assets compared to the wider market”.
sophia.furber@estatesgazette.com
