Custodian Property Income REIT - On track to meet dividend target

Custodian Property Income REIT (CREI) has released a trading update for the three months to 31 December 2023 (Q424). The quarterly DPS was fully covered by unaudited EPRA earnings and was in line with the full year target of at least 5.5p; at the current share price the target DPS reflects a yield of 8%.

Custodian Property Income REIT - Proposed merger

Custodian Property Income REIT (CREI) and abrdn Property Income Trust (API) have announced a proposed all-share merger, recommended by both boards. This recommendation reflects the increased diversification of income that the combined company will provide, with potential to benefit from increased scale and share liquidity, and the opportunity for cost savings. The investment strategy will remain income focused, emphasising below institutional-sized regional assets, typically offering a yield pre

Custodian Property Income REIT - Occupier demand continues to drive income

In H124, Custodian Property Income REIT (CREI) continued to benefit from robust occupier demand, underpinning earnings and dividends. Rents continued to grow and occupancy increased, with further near-term progress in sight, reflected in our increased EPRA earnings forecast. Asset management is also supporting capital values, although overall, following market trends, these continue to drift and NAV is modestly lower.

Custodian Property Income REIT - Enhanced income-driven strategy

Custodian Property Income REIT (CREI) continues to generate stable underlying earnings, fully covering DPS and providing an attractive 6.5% yield. Total return is benefiting from a stabilisation of property yields. Average rental values have continued to increase and, combined with asset management opportunities and a strong balance sheet, this provides strong ongoing support for the company’s enhanced income strategy.

Custodian Property Income REIT - Strong leasing has delivered targeted dividends

Custodian Property Income REIT (CREI) has met its 5.5p DPS target for the year to 31 March 2023 and, with property yields stabilising, the Q423 NAV total return was an income-driven 0.9%. Average rental values have continued to increase and this, combined with asset management opportunities and a strong balance sheet, provides strong ongoing support for the company’s high-income strategy.

Custodian Property Income REIT - Positive income indicators in a challenging market

In Q323, Custodian Property Income REIT (CREI) continued to capture occupational demand, lease vacant space across all sectors and grow rental income. This underpins fully covered dividends and provided a partial offset to strong market-wide pressure on property valuations. Moderate gearing mitigated the impact on NAV, while income is protected by 80% of drawn debt having a fixed cost.

Custodian REIT PLC: The 6% yield and NAV discount is an opportunity

Custodian REIT is a UK commercial Real Estate Investment Trust focused on smaller lot-sizes, managing a portfolio of 163 properties diversified across UK regions and property sectors. The group's key focus is on income growth while managing risk through diversification. Revaluations remain difficul

Custodian REIT - Robust EPRA earnings but decreased NAV

Strong leasing activity is supporting EPRA earnings and Custodian REIT (CREI) is on track to meet its FY23 DPS target of not less than 5.5p, fully covered. Despite the robustness of occupational demand and continued rent growth in many areas, capital values began to reprice to increased bond yields. We expect these trends to continue, with EPRA earnings and DPS progressing further while asset values and net asset value (NAV) decrease further.

Custodian REIT - Good momentum through Q123

Custodian REIT’s (CREI’s) Q123 report showed continuing strong performance, with like-for-like rental and capital value growth supporting a three-month total return of 3.2%. Capital growth has been strong in the past year, but it is CREI’s income-driven approach that has driven its consistent record of attractive returns. It is optimistic that this will continue, while any weakness in capital values may present opportunities for further income and dividend accretive growth.

Custodian REIT PLC — 17% NAV discount is an opportunity

At times of elevated inflation — UK consumer price index (CPI) inflation jumped to 9% in April, a 40-year high — investors need to tread carefully. Historically, real estate investment trusts (REITs) have provided good protection against inflation. Within the REIT sector, Custodian REIT PLC (LON: C

Custodian REIT - Strong returns continued through Q422

Custodian REIT’s (CREI’s) unaudited Q422 data show continuing strong performance, with a 6.4% NAV total return (28.4% for the year). Returns have been substantially driven by capital growth, but have also benefitted from recovering fully covered dividends. We will update our detailed forecasts when the full FY22 results are published in mid-June, but reflect the key unaudited FY22 data in the table below.

Custodian REIT - Strong capital growth with increasing income

Custodian REIT (CREI) delivered an 8.5% Q322 NAV total return, taking the year-to-date total to more than 20%. Strong Q322 capital growth mirrored the general market trend and was supported by asset management and the acquisition of DRUM REIT at a discount to its portfolio value. As previously guided, the rate of quarterly DPS was increased by 10%.

Attractive inflation hedge

Custodian REIT generated an impressive 8.5% total net asset value (NAV) return over the December quarter, reflecting a particularly strong performance in the industrial space, which is the group's largest sectoral exposure. It also reflected the acquisition of Drum Income Plus REIT at a discount to

LIBERUM: Plus500: Strategic progress pays dividends

Tatton Asset Management (TAM LN) - Record net inflows

Tatton, the leading on-platform discretionary fund manager (DFM) and IFA support services Group has released a trading update ahead of its results to 31 March 2024, due on 18 June 2024.

Hardman & Co Insight: 2023 was an annus horribilis for Quoted UK Infrastructure and Renewable Energy

The focus of Hardman & Co Research is on the nine quoted Infrastructure Investment Companies (IICs) and on the 22 Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds (REIFs): the stocks analysed are all members of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC). We are updating our publication of January 2023, assessing both the lacklustre share price performances during 2023 and the key issues, including interest rates, inflation and power prices. As a 31-strong group, its combined market capitalisation is no

Ondo InsurTech FY24 Trading Update

Ondo InsurTech has released a brief post-YE update revealing its good progress continued through 2H24 and consequently FY24 will be in line with market expectations.

BlackRock World Mining

BRWM’s managers: we see all the classic signs of high commodity prices...

Foxtons Group (FOXT LN) - 1Q24 IMS shows real momentum

Foxtons Group plc first quarter revenue rose 9% to £35.7m (1Q23: £32.9m) with growth delivered across all business segments. Trading is in line with management's expectations.

Morning Note – 18 April 2024

NextEnergy Solar Fund - Attractive Refinancing

The refinancing of a £135m revolving credit facility and the extension of a similar £70m facility gives NESF firepower as development opportunities for new solar are especially attractive thanks to lower module prices in Europe. They give the fund key financial flexibility at a critical time as it pursues its capital recycling programme.

Foxtons Group - FY24 underpinned by market share gains

Foxtons Group’s Q1 revenue grew by 9%, supported by growth in all three divisions as the strategic initiatives continue to gain significant momentum, driven by investment in staff, best-in-class bespoke IT and data platforms. This implies that Foxtons’ medium-term targets are now coming into focus. Market share is being gained in all divisions, which puts Foxtons in a good position as the sales market stabilises. We maintain our valuation of 132p/share and believe that if interest rates stabilis

The Hardman & Co Monthly: April 2024

Feature article: Steady as she goes, but could be better: A review of investment company liquidity since 2016 Liquidity is the lifeblood of equity markets. The measurement of liquid asset availability to a market or company is a way of gauging a market’s health. This article builds on our previous work, which analysed the liquidity data for non-financial trading companies, by applying the same analytical techniques to the investment companies (IC) space. We analyse liquidity for ICs as a whol

Initial Equity Trading Comments - 19 February 2024

M Winkworth+ (WINK, House Stock at 163p) - Solid FY23A results, well placed to grow

Hybridan Research: Sector Review: Artificial intelligence in UK cybersecurity: the human uplift 17/04/2024

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a double-edged sword in cybersecurity. Whilst new AI models, architectures, and innovations are emerging to protect the security posture of organisations, attackers are also benefiting from deepfakes, sophisticated phishing, and automation of malicious codes. To ensure the impact of AI on cybersecurity to be a net-positive, we need to pit good AI against bad AI. Point solutions enhanced with machine learning: Global cybersecurity has been built with point soluti

Resilient FY24, confident long-term outlook

Vp’s full year update highlights sector-leading results, once again benefiting from the diversity of its end markets and the quality of its specialist businesses. With results expected to be broadly in line with expectations, we trim our FY24 PBT forecast by c.5% to £39.0m, a shade below the FY23 outturn (£40.2m). We consider this an impressively resilient performance set against a mixed market backdrop. Under new leadership, a strategic refresh is underway and management is confident in long

AUM up 30% in FY24, record flows, forecasts raised

AUM jumped £3.8bn or +30% in FY24, reaching £16.6bn on 31 Mar 24, 12% above our previous forecast of £14.7bn. Including 50%-owned 8AM Global, Assets Under Influence hit £17.6bn. Investment performance provided a tailwind, adding £1.5bn to AUM. But our key takeaway from Tatton’s hugely impressive last few years, is that it has designed and implemented a superior offering in platform-MPS with net flows consistently far higher than peers. That leadership looks even more pronounced in H2-24 with net