West End property investment giant Great Portland Estates (GPE) said this morning that it is primed to grow “into increasingly favourable conditions” after it completed a bumper rights issue last month.
In an update ahead of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) the real estate investment trust (REIT) said it had signed 12 new leases between April and the end of June with an annual rent of £4.3m, of which the FTSE 250 firm said it would receive £4m.
The leases were inked at rents 7.7 per cent above March’s estimated rental value.
The firm’s £1.9bn portfolio is mostly comprised of office buildings and retail property in the West End of London. It said its 1.2 per cent void rate remained at a “near record low” and that a further £5.1m’s worth of annual rent is under offer.
It also pointed to a landmark deal signed in April on one of its flagship West End retail properties – 141 Wardour St – with the British luxury retail brand Represent as a sign that the market is picking up.
The update comes a month after the REIT, which dates back to 1959, completed a £350m rights issue that observers interpreted as a sign the firm was calling the bottom of the commercial property market.
Since interest rates started rising from their historic lows in 2022, the sector has been beset by a number of setbacks, including stagnant transaction volume and falling prices.
GPE saw the market’s recent correction as a buying opportunity, confirming it was “tracking approximately £1.3bn of acquisition properties”.
Toby Courtauld, GPE’s CEO, said: The strong leasing demand we have experienced for some time has continued into the new financial year. Despite the portfolio being virtually full, we signed £4.3m of new leasing deals in the quarter.
“We are well placed to take advantage of both the strength in occupational markets and the current disruption in London’s investment market.
“And with our recent capital raise, we have the financial firepower to exploit our pipeline of acquisition opportunities, accelerating our growth into increasingly favourable market conditions.”