The Directors of Great Portland Estates plc announce the results for the Group for the year ended 31 March 20221.
Strong valuation and rental value growth; positive guidance for new financial year
- Portfolio valuation, up 6.1%2 (+7.9% offices, retail flat); developments up 49%; rental values up 3.0%2
- Total property return of 9.4%, with capital return of 6.5% v MSCI Central London (annual index) of 3.8%
- Portfolio rental value guidance of 0% to +5.0% for the new financial year
Robust financial results; solid NTA growth +7.2% and TAR +8.8%
- IFRS NAV and EPRA3 NTA per share of 835 pence, up 7.2% over twelve months
- EPRA3 earnings of £27.4 million, down 31.7% on 2021 as expected; EPRA3 EPS of 10.8 pence, down 31.6%
- After revaluation surplus, IFRS profit after tax of £167.2 million (2021: loss of £201.9 million)
- Total accounting return4 of 8.8% over twelve months; dividend per share maintained at 12.6 pence
Record leasing year; total potential rent roll growth of 89%
- £38.5 million of new annual rent across 520,900 sq ft, market lettings 9.8% above March 2021 ERV
- Central London retail recovery, 22 deals signed in the year, 203,700 sq ft, 12.3% above ERV
- £9.4 million lettings under offer, 2.5% ahead of March 2022 ERV, further c.£32 million in negotiation
- Vacancy down to 10.8%; 4.4% excl. completed developments (Mar 2021: 6.6%)
Evolving strategy and organisation, innovative Customer first approach, supported by strong culture
- Two complementary, overlapping businesses focusing on satisfying customer needs and sustainability
- HQ Repositioning, delivering larger, best in class HQ buildings; 8 schemes, 1.3 million sq ft
- Flex spaces, smaller fitted units, often with higher service levels; 250,000 sq ft today; targeting growth to 600,000 sq ft organically; values up 8.6%2
- Strong customer satisfaction (NPS +27.8) and employee engagement (89% recommend GPE)
Excellent development progress; £1.1 bn highly-sustainable development pipeline
- 1 Newman Street, W1 (122,700 sq ft) completed, 69% let or under offer
- Major office Net Zero Carbon refurbishment at 50 Finsbury Square, EC2 (129,200 sq ft); offices 100% pre-let
- Four prime office led schemes in £1.1 billion near-term programme (917,800 sq ft), all targeting Net Zero Carbon with starts in next 24 months. Enabling works progressing well at 2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2 (321,100 sq ft) ahead of expected construction start Q4 2022, good pre-let interest
Two acquisitions for flex, substantial financial capacity
- Two acquisitions (89,000 sq ft) totalling £66.5 million for Fully Managed offer; reviewing further £1.0 billion
- 160 Old Street, EC1 sold for £181.5 million, 5% premium to March 2021 valuation; c.£200m sales under review
- LTV of 20.5%, weighted average interest rate of 2.1% (fully drawn), cash & undrawn facilities of £391 million
"We are pleased to report on a strong year, delivering record leasing volumes, well ahead of ERVs which, along with outstanding development returns, profitable disposals and accretive acquisitions, have combined to deliver healthy asset value growth. Whilst we expect macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainties to persist in the near term, dampening growth, the conditions we highlighted at our Interims in November and which had kick-started the post-pandemic recovery in London’s economy and its property markets, remain in evidence today. London is substantially busier than this time last year with office workers and shoppers returning, Crossrail is about to open, job vacancies are rising and inward investment into income yielding real estate is up. Plus, we expect weaker sentiment and cost inflation in the short term, along with further tightening in the planning environment, to impact the appetite for development risk, choking off the supply of new office space, intensifying the already acute shortage as customers continue their flight to quality. Despite current uncertainties, our outlook is positive; through our Customer first approach, we are addressing today’s key customer themes of flexibility, service delivery and amenity provision in well designed, tech-enabled and sustainable spaces; through our strategic focus on HQ and Flex spaces, we are investing in two of the fastest growing sectors of the office market and where we have a competitive advantage and significant ambition, including our £1.1 billion near-term development programme. With our strategic agility, strong balance sheet, plentiful liquidity and our motivated and engaged team, we have the ability to capitalise on London’s potential and we look to our future with confidence."
