Slough: Segro commits to £600m investments in 2020
Property giant Segro has posted strong results in its 100-year anniversary, revealing an 8.9% increase in net asset value per share to 708p for 2019 and a commitment to a capital expenditure programme of more than £600 million in 2020.
The UK’s largest listed property company by market value said it expects to invest in excess of £600m in development capex and land, including approximately £50m of infrastructure expenditure. Segro added it has 826,200 sq m of development projects under way for 2020, capable of generating £50m of new headline rent, of which 60% has been secured.
Segro noted future earnings prospects are underpinned by 1.2m sq ft of development projects currently under construction or in advanced pre-let discussions. This, Segro said, equates to an additional 15% of space and £70m of potential rent, 71% of which relates to pre-lets and lettings prior to completion.
Adjusted pre-tax profit was up by 10.8% to £267.5m last year, reflecting a record year of development completions, high customer retention rates, like-for-like rental growth and a low vacancy rate, Segro said.
In 2019, Segro contracted £65.8m of new headline rent, down from its record 2018 performance of £66.4m of new letting deals in 2018.
“2019 was another successful year for Segro, with our clear strategy delivering excellent financial and operational results,” said David Sleath, chief executive of Segro.
“Our high-quality, well-located portfolio of urban and big box warehouses continues to attract a broad range of customers, benefitting from the structural drivers of e-commerce and urbanisation. As anticipated, these trends are now having an increasing impact on the Continent as well as in the UK," he added.
Source: CoStar
