LondonMetric has reported a 16.6% uplift in net rental income to £54.9m in half year results following the acquisition of A&J Mucklow in the period.
The company, which saw net asset value (NAV) remain flat at 174.9p per share, said the acquisition has significantly increased its portfolio weighting to the urban logistics sub-sector that has strong rental growth prospects.
EPRA earnings per share in the period to the end of September increased 2.9% to 4.6p, comfortably covering its dividend in the period of 4.0p per share.
Following the £414.7m acquisition of A&J Mucklow, the company’s urban logistics portfolio now stands at £826m by value – 35% of the wider portfolio.
Chief executive Andrew Jones said: “The acquisition of A&J Mucklow was a significant milestone and accelerated our conviction call to increase our weighting to the urban logistics sector where rents are rising to reflect growing consumer demand for quicker and more efficient deliveries. We call it the Amazon race. This transaction, together with our other long income acquisitions, reflect the ongoing focus on improving our portfolio to benefit from the evolving consumer revolution and a global search for yield.
“We will therefore look to allocate further capital into these sectors and assets where the income is reliable, repetitive and which we expect to grow over time. After all, we expect income and income growth to be the defining characteristics of the next decade’s investment environment. We remain convinced that this strategy will allow us to continue to outperform and to deliver our shareholders an attractive, progressive and well covered dividend.”
LMP : LondonMetric post 16.6% uplift in net rental income