Ediston Property sees an increase of NAV per share- Ediston Property Investment Company plc (EPIC) saw an NAV per share increase from 111.3 pence in 2017 to 115.3 pence in 2018. That equals an increase of NAV per share of 3.6% for the year. The average share price discount to NAV during the year was 1.6%. The dividend for the year increased from 5.5p to 5.75p for the year.
There recent acquisitions has increased the contracted rent from £12.1 million to £21.5 million, which reduced the funds exposure to its top tenants from 62.2% to 47%. In order to fund their recent warehouse acquisition of £144 million, the fund issued £88.7 million in equity and drew down £40.2 million in debt.
William Hill, Chairman of the Company, said:
“Real Estate Investment Trusts with attractive and sustainable levels of dividend and modest gearing should remain appropriate places to invest long term capital. The Company’s portfolio has attractive defensive elements with a bedrock of leases let to strong covenants and few imminent lease expiries. The Investment Manager has identified value-add opportunities within the existing portfolio and the Company is not wholly reliant on market movement for NAV progression. The Investment Manager has demonstrated that it has the skills to execute on these opportunities and I expect to be reporting on a number of further successful initiatives during the forthcoming year.”
Calum Bruce, Investment Manager, said:
“Investment demand is robust, particularly for good assets which offer strong fundamentals. The market is quick to discount stock which is blighted in any way. We targeted well-located, prominent retail parks and continue to believe that they offer a good value opportunity when compared to other sectors of the property market, such as industrial and logistics assets, where yields have been reduced as a result of stiff pricing competition. However, care must be taken to select assets with strong fundamentals (well-located, with the right planning consents and let off affordable rents) as these offer prospects of rental growth and will otherwise be susceptible to yields softening.”
EPIC- Ediston Property sees an increase of NAV per share