Shopping centre owner New River ‘pleased’ with tenants’ Christmas trading
Property landlord New River this morning said it was pleased with its tenants’ performance during the Christmas trading period despite a drop in footfall at its shopping centres.
The real estate investment trust (REIT) said its top 15 tenants, which include Sainsbury’s, B&M, Primark, Next and Iceland, had reported a “robust” trading performance despite “challenging market conditions”.
Like-for-like footfall declined 1.9 per cent during the quarter, however it outperformed the UK benchmark by 60 base percentage points.
New River said its retail occupancy remained high in the third quarter of its financial year, with a rate of 96.1 per cent, adding that it completed 152,000 sq ft of leasing activity in the period.
New tenants during the quarter included The Gym Group at Victoria Retail Park in Beverly, where the brand launched one of its first “small box” sites, as New River targets the growing budget gym sector.
Meanwhile, the REIT’s growing pub portfolio reported like-for-like earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation growth of 4.9 per cent.
The company is on track with its disposal target, having completed £70.3m of disposals in the financial year to date.
New River chief executive Allan Lockheart said: “We were pleased with the robust Christmas trading performance of a number of our top 15 tenants…With a clear strategy and a portfolio focused around occupiers providing convenience, value and services, we feel well-positioned to navigate our way through these challenging market conditions.”