Directors at Standard Life Investments Property Income Trust hope the REIT’s focus on industrials will stand it in good stead in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis, describing the industry as “likely to be the most resilient sector and the one that recovers the fastest – although there will be pain here as well as the economy stalls”.
In a quarterly NAV update, the company said the attractions of urban logistics investment would be “amplified by this crisis”.
“There is strong potential for consumers, previously cautious around online shopping, to gain confidence and retain a higher proportion of spending online after the crisis, which will drive increased demand for ‘last touch’ logistics in particular,” it said.
The REIT was more cautious on office investment, but said talk of the demise of the office was overblown.
“There is much discussion about how demand for offices will be impacted over the longer term – will more people work from home, or will organisations need to have fewer people in more space to encourage social distancing?” it said. “We believe our offices will continue to appeal to occupiers, and in fact have two leases ready to complete – once the new tenants know when they can actually move in.”
The company’s NAV stood at 83.2p as of 31 March, down 7.5% from the end of 2019.
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