Segro hikes rents and eyes expansion following fundraising
Warehouse giant Segro signed £29m in new rent during the first quarter of the year as it hiked rents and signed £17m in new pre-let developments.
In the first three months of 2024, the real estate investment trust invested £99m in new developments, with £600m total expected to be spent throughout the year, it said in a trading update.
The FTSE 100-listed company has sold £159m in property so far this year at prices above December’s reported book value.
“Market data shows industrial and logistics asset values are stabilising,” the group said.
The group aims to grow its passing rents by more than 50 per cent during the next three years to achieve its goal of an average yield on cost of between seven and eight per cent.
Customer retention was up, from 82 per cent in the first quarter of last year to 90 per cent today.
However, the group’s occupancy rate declined slightly, down to 94.5 per cent from 95 per cent at the end of last year and 95.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.
David Sleath, Segro’s chief executive, praised the group’s “prime urban and big box portfolio and market-leading operating platform”.
In February, the group raised over £900m from investors to put into its pipeline of development projects, identifying 24 data sites across the UK and continental Europe, which had the potential to be transformed into data centres.
The new equity “provides us with the capacity to pursue further attractive growth opportunities, both through development and asset acquisitions,” added Sleath.
“This gives us confidence in our ability to deliver further compound growth in earnings and dividends during 2024 and beyond.”
The group is listed in the UK, with secondary shares listed on the Paris stock market since 2020.