Capital & Regional making progress on bank talks

19th May 2009 10:48

Property fund manager Capital & Regional said it is continuing to progress with negotiations on its banking facility, which are expected to be concluded by the time of its interim results.As part of its discussions with the bank, it is looking to widen the asset cover test to include other assets and seeking to amend other facility terms to provide sufficient headroom. Passing rent, calculated for the three UK funds on a weighted average like-for-like basis, fell by 2.6% between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009.Funds have continued to make new lettings, raising £1.6m from 30 units at 5.5% above 30 December 2008 ERV.Occupancy across its three funds remained satisfactory in light of conditions in the wider market, falling to 93.1% at 31 March 2009 from 94.6% at 30 December 2008.The group said the retail sector still faces challenging trading conditions, whereas the performances of the leisure sector and its German joint venture have to date largely been more resilient in the face of the economic downturn.