TR Property has seen the value of its investment fall by a third after “a dramatically poor period of performance for property shares”.
The property investment trust, which invests directly and in floated UK and European REITs, has seen net assets plunge from £1.55bn in March to just £986m at the end of September.
The value of its investments in UK property companies, ranging from SEGRO to Derwent London to Tritax, fell from £518m in March to £335.7m in September, while its directly owned UK assets fell from £96.2m to £83.6m of UK real estate directly.
Chair David Watson said: “This has been a dramatically poor period of performance for property shares and the company was no exception, delivering a six-month net asset value total return of -33.6%.”
However, revenue rose by 17% per share with underlying income continuing to grow.
Watson noted: “Our investments are focused on balance sheet strength and the security of income, much of which is index-linked, so I am pleased to report a 6.6% increase in the interim dividend.”
He added: “Generalist investors are shunning the sector and that is reflected in all property share prices. Share prices still stand at large discounts to our adjusted, real-time net asset value calculations.
“This autumn’s political events in the UK have been damaging to the UK’s reputation for financial and fiscal prudence. We can only hope the new prime minister is able to restore confidence and deliver the stability which markets crave. It is a tall order but the reduction in the cost of UK government debt since the last week of October is not only encouraging but crucial for all asset values.”
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