9 May 2024
Alternative Income REIT
PLC
(the
"Company" or
"Group" or
"AIRE")
NET ASSET VALUE, DIVIDEND
DECLARATION AND PORTFOLIO VALUATION UPDATE
TO 31 MARCH
2024
Remain on track to deliver
our target annual dividend of at least 5.9 pence per share for the
financial year ending 30 June 2024
Resilient portfolio well
placed to continue to provide secure, index-linked income with the
potential for capital growth
The Board of Directors of
Alternative Income REIT PLC (ticker: AIRE), the owner of a diversified portfolio of UK
commercial property assets, predominantly let on long leases with
index-linked rent reviews, provides a
trading and business update and declares an interim dividend for the quarter ended
31 March
2024.
Simon Bennett, Non-Executive Chair of
Alternative Income REIT plc,
comments:
"The Board
is pleased to declare a third interim dividend of 1.425 pence per
share ('pps') for the last quarter, which is 101% covered by earnings. This is in line
with the Board's previously announced annual dividend target of at
least 5.9pps for the financial year ending 30 June 2024, which
remains subject to continued strong rent
collection.
At 31 March
2024, the Group held 19 properties valued at £102.6 million (31 December 2023:
£103.3 million). The falls in value were spread across the residential, leisure
and care sectors. Transaction levels are low across the real estate
market as a whole, but these sectors, in particular, have seen the
most liquidity evidencing value levels. The
Group's portfolio is relatively insulated from market fluctuations,
benefiting from being 100% let, together with 100% collection of
rent due, 95.8% index-linked rent review profile, and low borrowing costs, which are fixed at a
weighted average interest rate of 3.19% until October 2025.
The sum of these factors continues to provide a secure and growing
rental income stream.
The Board is actively seeking to
invest the remaining proceeds from the sale of hotel in Glasgow
which as at 31 March 2024 amounted to £2.2
million."
Overview of Key Financials
|
At 31 March
2024
(unaudited)
|
At 31
December
2023
(unaudited)
|
Change
|
Net Asset Value ("NAV")
|
£64.9 million
|
£65.7 million
|
-1.2%
|
NAV per share
|
80.6p
|
81.6p
|
-1.2%
|
Share price per share
|
68.0p
|
71.5p
|
-4.9%
|
Share price discount to
NAV
|
15.6%
|
12.4%
|
3.2%
|
Investment property fair
value
(based on external
valuation)
|
£102.6 million
|
£103.3 million
|
-0.7%
|
Loan to gross asset value ("GAV")
A B
|
37.8%
|
37.5%
|
|
|
Quarter
ended
31 March
2024
(unaudited)
|
Quarter
ended
31 December
2023
(unaudited)
|
Change
|
EPRA earnings per share
A
|
1.5p
|
1.5p
|
-
|
Adjusted earnings per share
A
|
1.4p
|
1.5p
|
6.7%
|
Dividend cover
A
|
101.0%
|
102.6%
|
-1.6%
|
Total dividends per share
|
1.425p
|
1.425p
|
-
|
Dividend yield
(annualised)A
|
8.7%
|
8.3%
|
0.4%
|
Earnings per share
|
0.4p
|
-0.5p
|
180.0%
|
Share price total return
A
|
-2.9%
|
22.4%
|
|
NAV total return
A
|
0.5%
|
-0.6%
|
|
Annualised passing rent
|
£7.7 million
|
£7.7 million
|
-
|
Ongoing charges
A (annualised)
|
1.5%
|
1.5%
|
-
|
A Considered to be an Alternative Performance
Measure.
B The loan facility at 31 March 2024 of £41.0 million (31
December 2023: £41.0 million) with Canada Life Investments, matures
on 20 October 2025 and has a weighted average interest cost of
3.19%.
Property Portfolio
At 31 March 2024, the
Group held 19 properties valued at £102.6 million
(31 December 2023: £103.3 million).
The Company's property values decreased by
£0.8 million
or 0.7% for the
quarter ended 31 March 2024.
At 31 March 2024, the Net Initial
Yield on the Group's portfolio was
7.0% (31 December 2023: 6.9%). The weighted average unexpired lease term at 31 March 2024 was
16.4 years to the earlier of break and
expiry (31 December 2023: 16.6 years) and 18.3 years to expiry (31
December 2023: 18.5 years).
2024 is anticipated to be the
turning point for UK commercial property investment, with an
expectation for increased activity due to interest rate cuts, lower
inflation, and enhanced debt financing opportunities. The
industrial sector is showing continued strength, with occupiers
driving demand, and the tech sector's rapid growth is translating
to a growing need for office space. The Group's portfolio is
relatively insulated from market fluctuations and continues to
provide a secure and growing rental income stream, benefiting from
being 100% let, with 100% collection of rent due and 95.8%
index-linked rent review profile with 35.9% of this rental income
reviewed annually.
Over the past year, excluding the
sale in Glasgow and acquisition in Streatham, the value of the
Group's portfolio has fallen by a total of £2.3 million or
2.3%. AIRE continues to outperform relative
to most other commercial real estate companies, as demonstrated by
MSCI UK Monthly Data which reported a fall of 5.2% over the same
period.
The Group's contracted annualised
rent increased by 0.4% during the quarter
to 31 March 2024. This was due to annual indexation on the Handsale
lease in Bristol and the 5 yearly index-linked rent review on the
lease to YMCA in Southampton. The portfolio
continues to be actively managed; dialogue is
taking place with 5 tenants who are considering re-gearing their
leases, extending lease lengths and carrying out stock
improvements, in particular with respect of ESG initiatives and EPC
improvements.
During the
quarter to 30 June 2024, 11.1% of the Group's income will be
reviewed with three annual and one 5 yearly index-linked rent reviews.
Dividend Declaration, Earnings Per Share and Dividend
Cover
The Board has set an annual dividend
target of at least 5.9pps for the year ending 30 June 2024, which
is expected to be fully covered. The Board is therefore pleased to declare an
interim quarterly dividend of 1.425pps for the quarter ended
31 March 2024. This
dividend will be distributed as Property Income Distribution ("PID") and will be paid on 31 May 2024 to
shareholders on the register on 17 May 2024. The ex-dividend date
will be 16 May 2024.
It should be noted that the target
is subject to continuing levels of rent collection and with the
Company's continuing excellent record of rent collection
and the reinvestment of the remaining of the
proceeds, the financial results for the Company
remain as budgeted and the Board is also pleased to reaffirm its
5.9pps target.
The Adjusted EPS of
1.4pps remains stable over the quarter (31 December 2023: 1.5pps).
The dividend cover for the quarter was 101.0% (31 December 2023: 102.6%).
Net
Asset Value, Share Price and Share Price discount to
NAV
At 31
March 2024, the Group's unaudited NAV
was £64.9 million,
80.6pps (31
December 2023: £65.7 million, 81.6pps),
representing a 1.2% decrease
over the previous quarter.
When combined with the
1.425pps dividend paid in
the quarter, this produces an unaudited NAV total return for the
quarter of 0.5% (31 December 2023: -0.6%).
Additionally, the share price
decreased by 4.9% to 68.0pps. This reflects the increase in discounts generally in the sector but specifically the
Company's discount increasing from 12.4% to 15.6%. The
Company's discount remains one of the lowest in the
sector.
The table below sets out the
movement in NAV during the quarter.
|
Pence per
share
|
£ million
|
NAV
at 31 December 2023
|
81.6
|
65.7
|
Valuation movement in property
portfolio
|
(1.1)
|
(0.8)
|
Income earned for the
period
|
2.6
|
2.1
|
Expenses for the period
|
(0.7)
|
(0.6)
|
Net finance costs for the
period
|
(0.4)
|
(0.4)
|
Interim dividend paid during the
quarter ended 31 December 2023
|
(1.4)
|
(1.1)
|
NAV
at 31 March 2024
|
80.6
|
64.9
|
The NAV attributable to the ordinary
shares has been calculated under International Financial Reporting
Standards as adopted by the United Kingdom and incorporates both
the Group's property portfolio individually valued on a 'Red Book'
basis at 31 March 2024 and net income for the quarter but does not
include a provision for the interim dividend declared today (see
above).
The income earned for the period
includes an accrual for the minimum contractual uplifts contained
in the index-linked leases. In the event that inflation is greater
than these minimum contractual uplifts, the actual income will be
greater than the income currently accrued.
Rent Collection
Rent collection remains resilient
with 100%
collection of rent due for
the March 2024
quarter. 88.7% of the portfolios rent
is payable quarterly in advance and
11.3% payable monthly in
advance.
ENQUIRIES
Alternative Income REIT PLC
|
|
Simon Bennett
- Chairman
|
via H/Advisors Maitland
below
|
|
|
Martley Capital Real Estate Investment Management
Ltd
Richard Croft
Jane Blore
|
020 4551 1240
|
|
|
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited
|
020 7886 2500
|
Alex Collins
|
|
Tom Scrivens
|
|
|
|
H/Advisors Maitland (Communications Advisor)
|
07747 113 930 / 020 7379
5151
|
James Benjamin
Rachel Cohen
|
aire-maitland@h-advisors.global
|
The Company's LEI is
213800MPBIJS12Q88F71.
Further information on Alternative
Income REIT PLC is available at www.alternativeincomereit.com1.
1 Neither the content of
the Company's website, nor the content on any website accessible
from hyperlinks on its website or any other website, is
incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement nor, unless
previously published on a Regulatory Information Service, should
any such content be relied upon in reaching a decision as to
whether or not to acquire, continue to hold, or dispose of,
securities in the Company.
NOTES
Alternative Income REIT PLC
aims to generate a sustainable, secure and
attractive income return for shareholders from a diversified
portfolio of UK property investments, predominately in alternative
and specialist sectors. The majority of the assets in the Group's
portfolio are let on long leases which contain index linked rent
review provisions.
The Company's asset manager is
Martley Capital Real Estate Investment Management Limited ("Martley
Capital"). Martley Capital is a full-service real estate investment
management platform whose activities cover real estate investing,
lending, asset management and fund management. It has over 40
employees across five offices in the UK and Europe. The team
manages assets with a value of circa £900 million across 19
mandates (at 31 March 2024).