Update on rent collection

RNS Number : 2785N

Sirius Real Estate Limited

29 January 2021

 

SIRIUS REAL ESTATE LIMITED

(Incorporated in Guernsey)

Company Number: 46442

JSE Share Code: SRE

LSE (GBP) Share Code: SRE

LSE (EUR) Share Code: ESRE

LEI: 213800NURUF5W8QSK566

ISIN Code: GG00B1W3VF54

29 January 2021 

Sirius Real Estate Limited

("Sirius Real Estate", "Sirius" or the "Company")

UPDATE ON RENT COLLECTION

Sirius Real Estate, the leading owner and operator of branded business and industrial parks providing conventional space and flexible workspace in Germany, provides an update on rent and service charge collections for the nine months to 31 December 2020 and rent and service charge collections, sales and enquiry levels for January 2021.

The Company's strong rent and service charge collection has continued throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, collecting 97.7% of rent and service charges billed in the first nine months of the current financial year (1 April 2020 to 31 December 2020).

In the whole of the 2020 calendar year, the Company recorded a cash collection rate of 98.0% and has written off just €205,000 out of total rent and service charge invoicing of €141.2 million. As at 31 December 2020, from a tenant base of over 5,000 tenants, the Group had entered into 16 deferred payment plans with 43 tenants adversely impacted by the pandemic amounting to €0.4 million.  

Sirius invoices its tenants monthly in advance. Cash collection rates for the month of January 2021 are in line with previous months with 94.3% of rent and service charges billed received, compared to 95.0% for the same month in 2020 and in line with previous months.

The Company continues to generate sales in line with previous months whilst enquiry levels for the month of January 2021 are approximately 20% in excess of those generated in January 2020.

Andrew Coombs, Chief Executive Officer of Sirius Real Estate, said: "Since the outset of the pandemic, we have allocated increased platform resources and focus towards supporting our occupiers through the challenges they have faced. This active engagement has served us well, enabling us to demonstrate the additional value we can provide to our customers, while also ensuring that we have been able to maintain good cash collection levels in the region of 98%. Our enquiries, sales and cash collection performance, as well as the robust commitment of the German government to supporting business throughout 2021, give us confidence in our ability to continue to trade well through the Covid-19 environment. With total cash balances in excess of €70.0 million the Company has the capacity to continue to make acquisitions as opportunities arise."

For further information:

Sirius Real Estate

Andrew Coombs, CEO / Alistair Marks, CFO

[phone] 

FTI Consulting  (Financial PR)

Richard Sunderland / Claire Turvey / James McEwan / Talia Jessener

[phone]

[e-mail] 

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Sirius Real Estate

Sirius is a property company listed on the main market and premium segment of the London Stock Exchange and the main board of the JSE Limited.  It is a leading operator of branded business parks providing conventional space and flexible workspace in Germany. The Company's purpose is to create and manage optimal workspaces that empower small and medium-sized businesses to grow, evolve and thrive. Sirius seeks to unlock the potential of its people, its properties, and the communities in which it operates, so that together we can create sustainable impact, and long-term financial and social value.

The Company's core strategy is the acquisition of business parks at attractive yields, the integration of these business parks into its network of sites under the Company's own name as well as offering a range of branded products within those sites, and the reconfiguration and upgrade of existing and vacant space to appeal to the local market, through intensive asset management and investment. The Company's strategy aims to deliver attractive returns for shareholders by increasing rental income and improving cost recoveries and capital values, as well as by enhancing those returns through financing its assets on favourable terms. Once sites are mature and net income and values have been optimised, the Company may take the opportunity to refinance the sites to release capital for investment in new sites or consider the disposal of sites in order to recycle equity into assets which present greater opportunity for the asset management skills of the Company's team.

Sirius also has a venture with clients represented by AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets. Titanium was formed through the acquisition by AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets, on behalf of its clients, from Sirius, of a 65% stake in five business parks across Germany. Sirius retained the remaining 35%. The venture seeks to grow primarily through the acquisition of larger stabilised business park assets and portfolios of assets with strong tenant profiles and occupancy. As well as its equity interest, Sirius acts as operator of the assets in the venture, on a fee basis. Sirius will continue to grow its wholly owned portfolio through acquisitions of more opportunistic assets, where it can capitalise on its asset management expertise to maximise utilisation of the space, grow occupancy and improve quality of the tenants. The strategies have been clearly defined so that the venture does not conflict with Sirius's existing business.

For more information, please visit: www.sirius-real-estate.com  

Follow us on LinkedIn at  https://www.linkedin.com/company/siriusrealestate/

Follow us on Twitter at @SiriusRE

JSE Sponsor

PSG Capital

 

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