Standard Life Investments Property Income Trust delivered a NAV total return for 2021 of 28.6%, outperforming the AIC UK Property – Commercial peer group average of 17% and the open-ended commercial property funds sector of 9.6%.
As valuations recovered over the course of 2021, from the depths of the pandemic, the group’s NAV increased 23.2% – mainly due to its large portfolio weighting to the industrial & logistics sector of 54.7%.
The company paid dividends of 3.7725p in the year and announce an increased for the final quarter that takes the annualised rate to 4.0p per share. Dividends paid in 2021 equated to a yield of 4.6% based on the share price at 31 December 2021.
Over the longer term, the group’s NAV has outperformed its peers over three years (27.7% vs 20.3%), five years (60.1% vs 23.4%) and 10 years (188.9% vs 54.6%).
Portfolio review
- Portfolio valued at £499.9m at 31 December 2021 (2020: £437.7m).
- Portfolio total return of 22.6% (2020: –1.8%) well ahead of the MSCI benchmark return of 18.6%.
- Rent collection for 2021 of 96% of rent due (2020: 93.6%) as rent collection rates began to normalise towards the end of 2021.
- Occupancy rate of 90.3% (2020: 91.7%) compared to the MSCI rate of 90.0% (2020: 90.8%).
- A total of 10 lease renewals and restructurings were undertaken, securing £2.3m per annum in rent, and a total of nine lettings securing just under £1.5m per annum.
- Five rent reviews were settled with uplifts in rent, securing an additional £106,379 (an average increase of 7.4% on previous rent).
- The company has six operational PV schemes totalling 1.2 MWp and is actively engaged in 14 additional schemes that would add a further 4.6 MWp.
Finances
The group has a low loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 19.2% at the year end, with scope to increase gearing through its £50m undrawn revolving credit facility.
Name change
The board is recommending to shareholders a change of name to abrdn Property Income Trust Limited, following the change in name of its investment manager to abrdn last year.
SLI : Standard Life Investments Property Income delivered benchmark beating returns