RECORD LEASING DRIVING PERFORMANCE AND EARNINGS OUTLOOK
Simon Carter, Chief Executive said:
“A record year of leasing has driven strong ERV growth, like-for-like net rental growth and an attractive earnings outlook. We are benefiting from our leading positions in campuses and retail parks, where demand is growing and supply remains constrained. Our offer is clearly resonating with customers: we have around a 5% share of the London office market, but accounted for 15% of reported leasing activity last year, rising to 33% in the fourth quarter.
While the geopolitical and interest rate backdrop has become more uncertain, the occupational fundamentals underpinning our portfolio are as strong as I have seen them. Central London office net take-up is at its highest level in 20 years and our retail parks are 99% occupied.
In these tightening markets, we are well positioned to capitalise on our scale, quality and value-add mindset to deliver sustainable EPS growth of 3-6% per annum and total returns of 8-10% across the cycle.”
FINANCIAL
- Underlying Profit £294m, up 5% (FY25: £279m)
- Underlying earnings per share (EPS) 28.9p, up 1% (FY25: 28.5p)
- Dividend per share 23.12p, up 1% (FY25: 22.80p)
- EPRA cost ratio 18.9% (FY25: 17.5%)
- Total property return +7.4% and total accounting return +8.1%
OPERATIONAL METRICS
- Portfolio occupancy 96.9%1: Campuses 94.7%1, Retail & London Urban Logistics 99.0%1
- Leased 3.8m sq ft, 7.2% ahead of ERV with 1.1m sq ft under offer, 12.9% ahead of ERV
- Campus leasing: 1.7m sq ft (a record £143m secured2), 6.3% ahead of ERV, which accelerated in Q4 with 0.8m sq ft of deals, c.50% of the total
- 295k sq ft under offer in Campuses, 17.0% ahead of ERV, with a further 228k sq ft under offer in the six weeks post year end with viewing levels elevated
- Retail & London Urban Logistics leasing: 2.1m sq ft, 8.4% ahead of ERV and 0.8m sq ft under offer, 10.3% ahead of ERV
- Retail park leasing ahead of previous passing rent, which accelerated in H2 with deals 6.3% ahead
- Like-for-like net rental growth +6%: Campuses +12%3, Retail & London Urban Logistics +2%
PORTFOLIO VALUATION
- Values up 2.3%: Campuses +2.0%, Retail & London Urban Logistics +2.7%
- ERV growth 4.9%: Campuses 6.5%, Retail & London Urban Logistics 3.6%
- Net equivalent yield -4 bps to 6.0%: Campuses -4 bps to 5.6%, Retail & London Urban Logistics -4 bps to 6.6%
BALANCE SHEET
- EPRA Net Tangible Assets per share 590p, up 4%
- LTV 39.2% (FY25: 38.1%)
- Group Net Debt to EBITDA 7.7x (FY25: 8.0x)
- £3.1bn of financing activity, including £2.0bn new finance raised
- £1.6bn undrawn facilities and cash, with no requirement to refinance until early 2029
- Fitch Senior Unsecured credit rating at ‘A’ with stable outlook (affirmed February 2026)
CAPITAL ACTIVITY
- £106m of assets disposed at an average of 4% above book value, and at 2.9% NIY
- Exchanged or under offer on £176m of asset disposals post year end
- £94m of retail acquired, principally three retail parks, at 7.2% Topped Up NIY
- Life Science REIT acquisition effective 20 April 2026, funded through issuing 24.5m new shares and £49m cash
- Progressing 1.6m sq ft committed development pipeline on a de-risked, capital light basis
SUSTAINABILITY
- GRESB rating of 5* for both standing investments and developments, achieving our best scores across both measures
- 75% of the portfolio rated EPC A or B, up from 68% at FY25
OUTLOOK
- Expect FY27 EPS of at least 30.5p, underpinned by like-for-like net rental growth at the top end of our 3-5% range
- Expect 3-6% per annum EPS growth in subsequent years
- Reiterating guidance of 3-5% per annum ERV growth across the portfolio