Derwent London Share News (DLN)

(Sharecast News) - Derwent London reported further strong letting progress in its third quarter update on Thursday, with lettings for the year-to-date totalling £33.5m on 486,600 square feet, which was on average 7.0% above December's estimated rental value.
The FTSE 250 company said that Included 83,100 square feet pre-let to Apollo Management International at 1 Soho Place W1.

It said its EPRA vacancy rate was down to 0.6%, from 1.8% in December last year.

On the development front, a total of 790,000 square feet was under construction, with 70% of commercial space pre-let.

Of that, 80 Charlotte Street W1 was 92% pre-let, with completion due in the first half of 2020, and Soho Place W1 was 76% pre-let, with completion due in the first half of 2022, while the Featherstone Building EC1 was due for completion in the first half of 2022 as well.

Capital expenditure on projects totalled £155.7m in the nine months to 30 September, the board reported, while it completed property disposals of £181.7m in the year-to-date, which was 6.2% above December 2018 values.

Derwent's loan-to-value ratio as at 30 September was 16.4%, with £560m of undrawn facilities and cash.

During the period, the company signed a new five-year £450m revolving credit facility, including a £300m 'green' tranche, and it joined the 'Better Buildings Partnership' and signed its Climate Change Commitment.

"Our strong pre-letting activity continues, demonstrating the consistent demand for our product and for London office space," said chief executive Paul Williams.

"In addition we have extended our main revolving credit facility, which includes an innovative green tranche linking the financing of our developments to their environmental impact."

At 1054 GMT, shares in Derwent London were flat at 3,572p.