Invista European Real Estate Trust this morning posted a pre-tax loss of €133.8m (£119.2m) for the 12 months to 30 September 2009 – more than the €61.5m (£54.8m) lost last year.
The company blamed negative property re-valuations and interest rate swap movements for the fall, and said reducing the risk of loan covenant breach was essential in 2010 to “move onto the front foot.”
Invista’s property assets at the end of September stood at €532.9m (£474.9m), compared with €687.4m (£612.6m) in 2008.
However, it said that the like-for-like fall in the quarter to September was a relatively modest 1.1%. The Trust also reduced operational costs by over €3m (£2.7m), or 20%, during the year.
Following the year-end, the company announced it had raised £58.3m through a share offer. With the proceeds, Invista paid down €40m of debt and also negotiated new banking terms.
Tom Chandos, chairman of Invista European Real Estate Trust, said: “Re-setting the capital structure and reducing the risk of loan covenant breach were essential steps for the company to move onto the front foot in 2010.
“The new debt terms lower the Group’s LTV ratio, reduce the cost of servicing loan interest and extend the duration of the facility as well as increase the LTV covenant from 65% to 85% through what may continue to be a challenging period in the credit markets.
“We are cautiously optimistic about the near term future. Nevertheless, the speed and shape of the recovery is difficult to predict.
“There is no doubt that growth will vary across each country and each asset class in which the company is invested.”
james.buckley@estatesgazette.com
