5,000th Completed Rental Home & Q3 Trading Update

RNS Number : 8894V

PRS REIT PLC (The)

12 April 2023

 

PRSR.L

The PRS REIT plc

("the PRS REIT" or "the Company")

5,000^th Build-to-Rent Home Completed

Consolidating the Portfolio's Position as the

Largest Build-to-Rent, Single-family Portfolio in the UK

&

Q3 Trading Update  

The PRS REIT, the closed-ended real estate investment trust that invests in high-quality, new build, family homes in the private rented sector ("PRS"), is pleased to announce the completion of its 5,000^th build-to-rent home and to provide a trading update for the third quarter of its financial year ending 30 June 2023.

	At 31 March 2023	At 31 December 2022	At 31 March 2022
Number of completed homes	5,010	4,913	4,616
Estimated rental value ("ERV") per annum	£52.7m	£50.7m	£45.5m
Number of contracted homes	516	613	822
ERV per annum	£5.2m	£6.6m	£6.2m
Completed and contracted sites	71	71	67
ERV of completed and contracted sites	£57.9m	£57.3m	£51.7m
Rent collected in period relative to rent invoiced for the same period	101%	98%	99%
Like-for-like rental growth on stabilised sites in the preceding 12 months	5.7%	5.7%	4.8%

Delivery - Milestone of 5,000th completed home reached

The Company is delighted to report that its 5,000^th rental home has now been built. This has helped to take the total number of completed homes in the PRS REIT's portfolio at 31 March 2023 to 5,010.  A further 516 homes with an estimated rental value ("ERV") of £5.2m were under way at this date. The delivery programme is now approximately 89% complete.

The estimated rental value ("ERV") of the 5,010 completed homes in the portfolio is £52.7m per annum, 16% higher than a year ago (31 March 2022: 4,616 homes with an ERV of £45.5m per annum). Once the delivery programme has been completed, the number of homes in the portfolio will increase to approximately 5,600 homes with an ERV of c.£58m per annum.

The 5,000^th home is a three-bedroom house located on the Company's Brookfield Vale site in Blackburn, Lancashire, comprising 154 high-quality two, three and four-bedroom rental homes. The development offers views of the Pennines and is one mile from Blackburn town centre, as well as being close to good schools and public transport links. As with all the Company's sites, it is managed under the award-winning rental brand, Simple Life, which aims to set a new, higher standard of customer care in the Private Rented Sector.

In order to mark the PRS REIT's 5,000th home, the Company is supporting Speed of Sight, the Lancashire-based charity established by professional racing driver, Mike Newman, who was born without sight and is the fastest blind man on land and water, to provide driving experiences to blind and disabled people. The Company became involved with Speed of Sight after it was nominated by a resident in the Company's 2021 12 Days of Christmas campaign.

Asset performance

The performance of the portfolio remains extremely strong. Occupancy at 31 March 2023 stood at 97%, with 4,860 of the 5,010 completed homes occupied. A further 65 homes were reserved at that date for applicants who had passed referencing and paid rental deposits, giving an occupancy rate of 98%. Like-for-like rental growth on stabilised sites was strong at 5.7% on an annualised basis.

Affordability remains strong, with average rent as a proportion of household income at c.25%, which is significantly less than Home England's limit of 35%.

Rent collection (defined as rent collected in the period relative to rent invoiced in the same period) was strong at 101%. It should be noted that the rent collection figures in the table above for Q3 and Q2 reflect seasonality and that the aggregate percentage for this six-month period is 100%. Total arrears continues to be low at £0.7m at 31 March 2023 (31 March: £0.5m), which is c.1% of annualised ERV on completed units.

Steve Smith, Non-executive Chairman of The PRS REIT plc, said:

"The completion of the 5,000^th rental home marks a significant milestone for The PRS REIT and demonstrates our success in building the largest portfolio of high-quality, build-to-rent, single-family rental homes in the UK over the last six years. We are in the final phase of the current delivery programme and expect to complete at around 5,600 homes with an estimated rental value of c.£58m per annum once fully let.

"Demand for our homes remains high, as our consistently strong performance measures, including occupancy levels and rent collection, show. This reflects the desirable nature of our houses - built to high-quality specifications and located close to good schools and public transport links - as well as their affordability for families.  Average rent is about 25% of a household's gross income. 

"We would like to thank all who have helped us to reach this important landmark of 5,000 completed homes - including investors, housebuilding partners, and Homes England. We are pleased to be meeting an important societal need and playing a part in solving the UK's urgent requirement for single-family rental homes."

For further information, please contact:

The PRS REIT plc Steve Smith, Non-executive Chairman	Tel: [phone] (c/o KTZ Communications)
Sigma PRS Management Ltd Graham Barnet, Mike McGill	Tel: [phone]
Singer Capital Markets James Maxwell, Asha Chotai (Investment Banking) Alan Geeves, James Waterlow, Sam Greatrex (Sales)	Tel: [phone]
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited Alex Collins (Investment Banking) Tom Scrivens (Corporate Broking)	Tel: [phone]
G10 Capital Limited (part of IQ-EQ) Paul Cowland	Tel: [phone]
KTZ Communications Katie Tzouliadis, Robert Morton	Tel: [phone]

NOTES TO EDITORS

About The PRS REIT plc

www.theprsreit.com

The PRS REIT plc is a closed-ended real estate investment trust established to invest in the Private Rented Sector ("PRS") and to provide shareholders with an attractive level of income together with the potential for capital and income growth. The Company has investment of over £1bn in a portfolio of high-quality homes for private rental across the regions, having raised a total of £0.56bn (gross) through its Initial Public Offering, on 31 May 2017 and subsequent fundraisings in February 2018 and September 2021. The UK Government's Homes England has supported the Company with direct investments. On 2 March 2021, the Company transferred its entire issued share capital to the premium listing segment of the Official List of the FCA and to the London Stock Exchange's premium segment of the Main Market. Now comprising over 5,000 build-to-rent homes, the Company believes its portfolio is the largest build-to-rent single-family rental portfolio in the UK. 

LEI:  21380037Q91HU97WZX58

About Sigma Capital Group Limited (formerly Sigma Capital Group plc)
www.sigmacapital.co.uk

Sigma Capital Group Limited ("Sigma") is a PRS, residential development, and urban regeneration specialist, with offices in Edinburgh, Manchester and London. Sigma's principal focus is on the delivery of large-scale housing schemes for the private rented sector. The Company has a well-established track record in assisting with property related regeneration projects in the public sector, acting as a bridge between the public and private sectors.

Sigma has created an excellent property procurement and management platform, which sources sites and brings together construction resource to develop them, enabling Sigma to deliver an integrated solution to partners. As well as sourcing sites and managing all stages of the planning and development process, Sigma manages the rental of completed homes through its award-winning rental brand 'Simple Life'. The Company's subsidiary, Sigma PRS Management Ltd, is Investment Adviser to The PRS REIT plc.

About Sigma PRS Management Ltd

Sigma PRS Management Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sigma Capital Group Limited and is Investment Adviser to The PRS REIT plc. It sources investments and operationally manages the assets of The PRS REIT plc and advises the Alternative Investment Fund Manager ("AIFM") and The PRS REIT plc on a day-to-day basis in accordance with The PRS REIT plc's Investment Policy. The AIFM is G10 Capital Limited. Sigma PRS Management Ltd is an appointed representative of G10 Capital Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN:648953).

 

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