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(Alliance News) - NewRiver REIT PLC on Thursday said it has seen improvement in rent collection for its first and second quarters, crediting the progress to an overall recovery in retail sales and re-openings across its retail portfolio.
The real estate investment trust also noted that rents for the third quarter were due on September 29, adding that the amount that has either been collected or had alternative payments agreed is already 72% ahead of where it was at the same stage in the second quarter at 66%.
NewRiver highlighted that across its retail portfolio, 94% of occupiers are now open and trading. It added that footfall remained "relatively robust" across its community centre portfolio, noting that in the week commencing September 28, footfall was more than double the week commencing June 8 and 31% below the same week in 2019.
Turning to its pub portfolio Hawthorn Leisure, for the 12 weeks since July 5 - being the day pubs were allowed to re-open in England - like-for-like volumes in its leased & tenanted pubs were down only 8% compared to the same period in 2019 while and like-for-like sales in its operator managed pubs were down 16% year-on-year.
"Hawthorn returned to profitability within eight weeks of reopening. For the month of September 2020, Hawthorn group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization was GBP1.9 million, which is 90% of the Hawthorn group Ebitda in September 2019," NewRiver stated.
Looking ahead, the company added: "As we enter the second half of financial 2021, the company is ahead of its strategy to dispose of GBP80 million to GBP100 million of assets this financial year, with GBP65.7 million of disposals either completed, exchanged or currently under offer. In aggregate these disposals represent a modest 3% discount to March 2020 valuations."
Completed disposals so far total GBP50.9 million.
Total available liquidity at the beginning of the first half totalled GBP235 million.
Shares in NewRiver were trading 2.7% higher at 56.30 pence each on Thursday morning in London.
By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com
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