9 Nov 2010 11:30
A & J Mucklow Group plc
9 November 2010
Interim Management Statement
A & J Mucklow Group Plc, the Midlands based Real Estate Investment Trust, announces its Interim Management Statement for the period from 1 July 2010 to 8 November 2010, to coincide with its Annual General Meeting this morning.
Rupert Mucklow, Chairman, will comment:
There has been very little new letting activity to report since our year end, but we have continued to perform in line with our expectations, by maintaining a high occupancy level and acquiring two more investment properties.
The Midlands occupier market remains weak, with very few enquiries for our vacant space. However, tenant retention and rent collection have been better than previous quarters and insolvencies and rental arrangements have reduced.
Our occupancy rate has improved marginally since 30 June 2010, from 91.5% to 92.2%, mainly due to the disposal of a vacant 35,000 sq ft industrial unit in July 2010 and the completion of our 128,500 sq ft Costco store in August 2010.
The investment market has cooled down a little since our year end, allowing us the opportunity to acquire two more investment properties, at a total cost of £7.8m. The availability of quality investment stock is still limited, but the number of active investors has reduced.
In the last month, we have acquired a brand new 41,000 sq ft warehouse, recently let to a UK national charity and a prominent 23,000 sq ft office building, built in 2004 and let on a long lease to the Secretary of State for Transport. The combined income for both properties is £0.6m pa, which shows us a return on cost of around 7.5%.
Following the latest investment acquisitions and the completion of the Costco development in August 2010, our total net borrowings have risen from £49.7m at 30 June to £55.1m today, which has increased our modest gearing to 29%. We still have £33.0m of undrawn banking facilities with HSBC to utilise, should other suitable opportunities arise.
Other than stated above, there has been no significant change in the group's financial position since 30 June 2010.
Contact:
Rupert Mucklow, Chairman M 07815 151254
David Wooldridge, Finance Director M 07788 686414