Yew Grove, the Itrish commercial property REIT, has provided an update on rent collections in the second quarter 2020. This follows a statement from the company, on 15 April, in which it said that it expected to collect at least 95% of second quarter 2020 rents. As at 4 June, Yew Grove says that it has collected 97% of its second quarter rent, which includes all of its monthly rental payments due in the quarter. The company has agreed a temporary rent deferral with a repayment plan on an additional 1.9% of the unpaid balance, which it says will bring the total to 98.9% in due course, with the remainder due from non-food retail outlets which have been closed and are expected to reopen soon and with whom it has begun discussions.
Comments from Jonathan Laredo (CEO of Yew Grove REIT)
“We are encouraged that the strength of our tenant covenant across the portfolio and our close relationships with the occupiers of our buildings ensured our collections for the second quarter have remained robust despite the very challenging market conditions. As previously stated on 15 April, we expect to announce a second quarter dividend at the end of June following a Board meeting to review our quarterly results.
“Our focus on tenant credit quality (with 95.3% of our rent roll from Government bodies or multi-nationals and large Irish enterprises) and our lack of exposure to non-food retail (1.2% of the quarterly rent roll) has served, and should continue to serve, us well. We are talking frequently to each of our building occupiers to ensure that we understand what they need both in terms of the ongoing management of the premises whilst they do not occupy them, additional asset management needed from us and, where necessary, assistance to try to ensure that we both weather this crisis. We will be reporting on our expectation for third quarter rent collections in early July.”
[QD Comment: So far, YEW Grove has weathered the crisis well in terms of rental collections and would appear to be little affected. The 97% collected is ahead of its own expectations, and this should rise to 98.9% shortly. There may also be the potential to collect some of the balance, depending on how negotiations proceed with the small proportion of its tenants that are not open for business. With talk of lockdown easing, the impact on Yew grove could prove to be minimal, which is in stark contrast to many other property companies.]