12 May 2009 11:56
Highcroft Investments PLC
Interim Management Statement in respect of the period 1 January 2009 to 12 May 2009
The board of Highcroft Investments PLC today approved the following statement in respect of the current trading period which will end 30 June 2009.
As shareholders know, we have been adopting a cautious stance for some time now as regards both our property portfolio and our equity holdings reflecting our long term conservative view and our shorter term worries as to economic trends. Apart from the strategic purchase of a small property in Oxford High Street in January, placed between two of our long-standing retail properties, there has been no further property acquisitions as we remain circumspect on current values in the sector.
Our focus continues to be on resolving the property voids in Warrington and Yeovil through attracting new tenants and/or some reconfiguration of the units and on monitoring the collection of rents from existing tenants where there has been some pressure to move from quarterly payments, though not yet at a significant level. The lack of significant gearing (medium term borrowings are now only £1.2m) gives us the flexibility to continue to take a medium and longer term view and to look at opportunities in what remains a delicate market. We have been small net sellers of equities and the most recent portfolio valuation is £7.3m as we tracked the falls in the early part of this year and the subsequent rebound.
While visibility on the property valuation front and the equity outlook remains more than usually opaque we are wary of how the economy will impact on our tenants and on the dividend policies affecting our equity holdings.
For further information, contact:
Highcroft Investments PLC
John Hewitt 01865 840023
Charles Stanley Securities
Philip Davies 0207 149 6000
12 May 2009