UK Commercial Property Trust posts 2.2 per cent rise in quarterly NAV

29th Apr 2014 08:55

UK Commercial Property Trust posted a 2.2 per cent increase in its quarterly net asset value (NAV) per share to 74.7p, up from 73.1p at the end of 2013. The portfolio value was £1,078.4m, also up 2.2% quarter-on-quarter before capital expenditure. The company intends to declare its first interim dividend of 0.92p.It wasn't all good news, however, with the company acknowledging the strong house price increases in some areas of the South East as a "cause for concern" and noting that "market indicators are perhaps not as strong currently as in previous months". Christopher Hill, Chairman of UKCPT, said: "The NAV growth in the first quarter of the year reflects the successful work undertaken by our asset management team and the continuing improvement of sentiment in the UK commercial real estate market. "Recent acquisitions have increased the company's exposure to the industrial sector which we believe offers excellent risk adjusted income and potential for valuation growth, while letting activity has mitigated challenging conditions in our retail portfolio. The company, with its high quality portfolio of properties across the country, is well positioned to benefit from the positive current environment and we look forward with cautious optimism."Looking ahead, the company is planning to issue 41.4m shares that are currently held in treasury, which it explained would be in response to market demand. It said the price would be at an "acceptable" premium to its NAV.It also said its manager's latest forecast for total returns in 2014 stands at 15.5%, driven by an acceleration of capital value growth supplemented by a slightly lower level of income return. Following Phoenix Group's announcement last month that it had agreed the sale of Ignis Asset Management with Standard Life, UK Comms, which has retained a subsidiary of Ignis since its inception, assured investors it would "continue to monitor the situation carefully". The share price fell 2.41% to 80.61p. NR