(Alliance News) - Capital & Counties Properties PLC on Wednesday reported a decline in net asset value and a widened loss for the first half of 2020, following a fall in the value of its Covent Garden properties as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As at June 30, the London & Johannesburg-listed property firm said its EPRA net asset value per share was 241 pence per share, down 23% from 315p the same date the year before and 18% from 293p at the end of December.
Meanwhile, the total value of Capco's property portfolio as at June 30 was GBP2.31 billion, down 16% on a like-for-like basis from GBP2.77 billion, as the valuation drops related to the retail, leisure and Food & Beverages sectors which account for 75% of total property value.
The main contributors to the drop were a 12% like-for-like decline in estimated rental value plus yield expansion of 17 basis points to 3.8% and other movements such as the valuer's assumption of a loss of near-term income amounting to GBP31 million.
The group's pretax loss widened significantly to GBP441.1 million from GBP8.5 million the prior year, following a loss on the revaluation and sale of investment and development property of GBP431.6 million.
Meanwhile, net rental income dropped by 41% year-on-year to GBP18.1 million from GBP31.0 million.
Capco said it has deferred its decision to pay an interim dividend until the end of the year. For the prior year, the group made an interim payout of 0.5 pence per share.
During the period, Capco acquired a 26% stake in FTSE 250 listed Shaftesbury PLC for GBP436 million from Veloqx Jersey Ltd, a company owned by Hong Kong-based property magnate Samuel Tak Lee.
"Capco is focused on making sure our customers reopen successfully and are provided the setting which offers the best opportunity to gradually build back towards previous levels of trade. The majority of our retail and hospitality customers have reopened with encouraging early indicators. There remain many challenges and an unpredictable economic environment however Capco is confident in the long-term prospects of the West End and the value of its unique investments," said Chief Executive Ian Hawksworth.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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