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(Alliance News) - Sirius Real Estate Ltd on Thursday reported an improvement in business for the period between April and July, with a rise in enquiries and steady collection of rent.
The London- and Johannesburg-listed property investor said as at July 31, it had collected EUR39.9 million in rent and service charges for the period from April to June, in line with the same period a year before; however the cash collection rate was lower at 95.9% compared to 98.2%.
This led to uncollected rent and service charges of EUR1.4 million, of which EUR212,000 related to insolvency cases. Looking ahead, Sirius expects to collect around EUR800,000 over the next 12 months through regular collection activities and deferred payment plans.
Meanwhile, enquiries between April and July increased by 6.7% year-on-year to 5,185, particularly enquiries for storage, which makes up 35% of the company's total lettable space.
However, lettings for July dropped to 215 from 224 the same month the year before, but the number of square metres increased to 13,170 square metres from 11,351. In addition, total annualised rent roll for the period from April to July declined by 18% year-on-year to EUR3.5 million from EUR4.3 million.
"Sirius entered this crisis with a strong balance sheet, and we have navigated the first two phases of our Covid-19 response with relative success. We are now entering the third phase and focussing on managing our client base carefully as the longer-term impacts of Covid-19 are absorbed," said Chief Executive Officer Andrew Coombs.
"We remain focused on delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns through active asset management. With its significant cash resources, Sirius is actively seeking new acquisitions to grow the portfolio, as well as to invest in it in order to attract new tenants and to capture reversionary potential from vacated space," Coombs added.
Shares in Sirius Real Estate were down 1.0% at 73.10 pence on Thursday in London, while its Johannesburg shares were 0.1% lower at ZAR16.61.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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