Sirius Real Estate posts good results for year that saw it enter UK market – Sirius Real Estate (SRE) has posted its final results for the year to 31 March 2022. During the period the group annualised rent roll increased by 73.1% to €167m as a result of demand and organic growth, acquisitions and the impact of BizSpace following completion in November 2021.
Meanwhile, like-for-like annualised rent roll in Germany increased by 6.4% reflecting the eighth consecutive year of like-for-like annualised rent roll growth in excess of 5% while like-for-like annualised rent roll in the UK increased by 7.6% in the trust’s 4.5 month period of ownership of BizSpace,
Profit before tax was €168.9m, representing a 3.2% year-on-year increase and funds from operations increased by 22.5% to €74.6m.
The dividend for the second half of the financial year was 2.37 cents, an increase of 19.7% on the 1.98c dividend relating to the same period in the prior year. The total dividend relating to the financial year ended 31 March 2022 was 4.41c, an increase of 16.1% with the same pay-out ratio of 65% of FFO. The total shareholder accounting return was 20%.
Meanwhile, the company has also enjoyed continued acquisitive growth, asset recycling and entry into new markets. During the period, €201.9m of acquisitions in Germany were completed or notarised across 10 sites, providing an attractive mix of income and value-add opportunity. SRE also entered into the UK market via the acquisition of BizSpace for a cash consideration of approximately £245m based on an enterprise value of £380m and representing a net initial yield of 7.1%.
Statement from the CEO:
Against an ongoing period of challenging market conditions, Sirius has delivered another very positive set of annual results leading to a 20% total accounting return including a 16.1% increase in dividend for shareholders. This strong operating performance was underpinned by continued demand and asset management led rental growth across both our German and UK platforms. The Company grew acquisitively through the commitment of over €200 million into acquisitions in Germany, as well as the acquisition of BizSpace in November 2021 for £380 million. Further, in issuing two corporate bonds amounting to €700.0 million the Company not only benefited from increased financial capacity but also reduced its weighted average cost of debt to 1.4%, increased its weighted average term of debt to 4.3 years and increased the value of its unencumbered properties to €1.6 billion.
We remain focused on driving property returns through the capability of our internal operating platforms and, despite the inflationary environment and the uncertainty created by the situation in Ukraine, are confident that we can continue to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns through active asset management. Looking ahead, we expect the ten assets acquired or notarised in Germany during the period to have a greater impact on earnings in FY23 compared to FY22, whilst the encouraging operating performance of BizSpace provides further income growth opportunities.
SRE : Sirius Real Estate posts good results for year that saw it enter UK market