NewRiver REIT has reported a £94.7m pretax loss for the six months to 30 September due to revaluations of its retail portfolio.
This compares to a loss of £20.9m a year earlier.
NewRiver reported a net valuation loss of £92.9m during the period, more than double the £40.4m loss in 2019.
This was driven by a like-for-like valuation drop of 8.2%. The portfolio was valued at £1.06bn at the end of the period, down from £1.2bn in March.
Its EPRA NTA per share dipped marginally, down 1.5% to 171p per share, with net assets at £518.2m.
During the period the REIT completed £50.2m in disposals, against a target of £80m-£100m. It has a further £21.7m in assets exchanged or under offer.
NewRiver REIT’s portfolio comprises 33 shopping centres, 24 retail parks and 700 community pubs. It has a 2.6m sq ft development pipeline, which seeks to extract value from the portfolio. Almost 75% of the pipeline is dedicated to residential, for example with the £200m residential development at The Mall in Walthamstow.
At the end of the period it had £140m in cash and an undrawn £45m revolving credit facility. The REIT reported an LTV of 48.1%, up from 47.1% in March and against a target of 40%.
Chief executive Allan Lockhart said: “Despite our strong financial position, uncertainty remains as to the impact of Covid-19 on our operations, in particular the new local restriction tier system that will be introduced in England from 2 December 2020, and similar measures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“For this reason, the board has decided not to pay a dividend in respect of the first half in order to continue its focus on cash reserves and liquidity. However, it is the board’s intention that a covered dividend will be reinstated at the full year.”
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