BMO Commercial Property Trust’s net asset value (NAV) has nudged up slightly in the quarter to the end of December 2020.
The group posted a 0.5% increase in NAV to 117.5p per share, with its property portfolio up 0.2% in the period to £1,227.9m.
The stable valuation was down to the strong performance of its industrial and logistics assets (19.1% of the portfolio) which saw an uplift of 6.7% in the period. After competing several asset management initiatives across its retail warehouse portfolio, these assets increased 3.4%.
However, the group’s biggest asset, St Christopher’s Place in London’s West End, was marked down 3.6% and its Wimbledon Broadway retail and leisure asset 6.5%.
Its office portfolio, which accounts for 42.2% of the portfolio, was stable at a -0.1% drop.
Rent collection
So far in the first quarter of 2021, the company has received 75.1% of the rent it has billed.
For the quarters in 2020 affected by the pandemic (Q2, Q3 and Q4), the company has collected 87.1% of rent.
Collection rates improved during the year with Q2 at 86.5%, Q3 at 86.3% and Q4 at 88.6%.
Dividend
The group’s monthly dividend was increased in December 2020 to 0.35p per share, and the board said this would be maintained “for the foreseeable future” despite the introduction of the current national lockdown.
The board did, however, say the dividend was being kept under review, with rental receipts and earnings being closely monitored.
BCPT : BMO Commercial Property Trust’s NAV nudges up