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Wichford Investors - WICH

Share Name	Share Symbol	Market	Stock Type
Wichford	WICH	London	Ordinary Share

	Price Change	Price Change %	Share Price	Last Trade
	0.00	0.00%	6.30	01:00:00

Open Price	Low Price	High Price	Close Price	Previous Close
			6.30	6.30

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Top Posts
Posted at 07/5/2011 11:09 by druinsky Yields on Greek government 10-year bonds have leapt to over 15%, a sign that investors are becoming increasingly sceptical that they will be repaid. sending commercial property yields up as people fret over UK soverign debt crisis - all WICH properties let to government right. Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 17/2/2011 18:14 by masurenguy RNS Number : 4545B Wichford plc 17 February 2011 Interim Management Statement Overview The Company has made a satisfactory start to the current year with trading for the first quarter ahead of that for the comparable period last year. The Board has continued making progress in relation to the strategic review of options previously announced, and a further announcement will be made shortly. 62.6% of the portfolio benefits from CPI / RPI indexation or fixed increases. Inflation in the UK has continued to remain well above the Bank of England's 2.0% target benefitting rent reviews subject to CPI or RPI. As at the date of this announcement the Company has approximately £26.7m of available cash after accounting for the purchase of Equitable House and the payment of the final dividend. The final dividend of 0.33 pence per share totaling £3.50m is due to be paid on 1 March 2011 to all shareholders on the register on 4 February 2011. VBG2 Facility: As previously announced the Company has agreed an LTV waiver and is in ongoing discussions to extend or restructure the facility. The EUR53.10 million outstanding on this facility is secured against two German properties in Cologne and Stuttgart. The facility matures in April 2011. Outlook The investment market has shown signs of increased liquidity with properties being priced on length of income and covenant strength as investors look for secure income yielding assets. Market expectations for 2011 are for widening yield spreads between prime and secondary assets with demand for prime assets remaining strong while higher equity requirements and more expensive debt financing for secondary property is likely to put upward pressure on yields. Bank lending to property remains constrained as banks continue to reduce their exposure to the sector, however lending from the institutional market for long-dated maturities appears to be active for the right assets. The Company remains focused on the strategic priorities established for 2010/2011 including the completion of its Strategic Review, securing a sustainable financing structure and managing the portfolio to protect future occupancy and rental income, repositioning assets with better alternative uses and disposing of underperforming assets. Philippe de Nicolay, Chairman of Wichford commented: "I am pleased to report trading for the first quarter ahead of that last year despite the ongoing challenges in the property investment and financing markets. The Board has been heavily engaged in progression of the strategic options available to Wichford, and we will update shareholders in relation to the strategic review shortly." Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 15/2/2010 15:31 by mattyd i'm guessing its from investors chronicle. simon thompson is their small companies editor, and he has tipped Wichford a few times in the last 6 months. i havent subscribed the the online service but i expect this article will be in fridays paper edition cheers for the link Mas. edit - yes it is from IC Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 20/1/2010 12:19 by ted1806 Can only be good news RNS Number : 8457F Wichford plc 20 January 2010 Wichford P.L.C. ("Wichford" or the "Company") Acquisitions 20 January 2010 Wichford P.L.C., the property investment company, announces three acquisitions in the UK, located in Bristol, Gillingham and Uxbridge, for a total of £23,337,000. Crescent Centre, Bristol Wichford P.L.C. has acquired the Crescent Centre, Temple Back, Bristol from Henderson Global Investors for £14,000,000. The multi-let 1970s office building totals 88,053 sq ft. with 48 car parking spaces. The largest tenant is Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs and the Employment Tribunals. Government occupiers make up 86.5% of the passing rent. The current income is £1,167,959 with two small suites empty and available to rent. The purchase price reflects a net initial yield of 7.89%. This property, which has a weighted average unexpired lease term ("WAULT") of 8.8 years, is expected to be pledged to the Zeta portfolio and will not directly impact the WAULT calculations of the Gamma or Delta facilities. Once this acquisition is pledged to the Zeta facility it will release funds held as collateral from properties that were sold or released from this facility to assist with the WAULT on the Delta and Gamma facilities. This acquisition therefore forms part of the overall strategy for the improvement of the Delta and Gamma WAULT. DSA Driving Centres, Uxbridge and Gillingham Wichford has also exchanged contracts on two pre-let DSA Driving Centres in Gillingham and Uxbridge for a total acquisition price of £9,337,000. In both cases, practical completion is scheduled to take place before the end of May 2010. The two properties are both let on forty year leases to the Driving Standards Agency. Gillingham and Uxbridge have tenant break options in year fifteen and twenty respectively. The total initial income is £585,000 giving a blended net initial yield of 5.92% based on the purchase price. These two acquisitions both assist in raising the WAULT of Wichford's UK portfolio and it is intended that both properties will be pledged to the Delta Facility subject to practical completion and the Security Trustee accepting the properties as substitute properties. For further details, please contact, Wichford P.L.C. Philippe de Nicolay 00 33 1 40 74 42 79 Wichford Property Management Ltd Philip Cooper 020 7495 7111 Stephen Oakenfull 020 7811 0100 Citigate Dewe Rogerson 020 7638 9571 George Cazenove Kate Lehane Notes to editors Wichford P.L.C. (UK Listed: WICH) is a property investment company, with a portfolio focused on investment property occupied exclusively by Central and State Government bodies. Approximately a quarter of the portfolio comprises public sector rented properties in France, Germany and the Netherlands. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 08/12/2009 18:54 by nick rubens From the chairmans statement "This has been a difficult year for Wichford but since our interim results in March we have taken a number of steps that give me real confidence for the Company's prospects in 2010. We have strengthened the balance sheet through a successful rights issue; our income stream remains robust with a negligible vacancy rate across our portfolio and we are making good progress in our discussions around debt and in re-balancing the portfolio. This action has put Wichford in a strong position and ready to take advantage of market opportunities over the coming year." I've kind of heard this before? confidence,strong position,take advantage of oportunities. My own opinion and interpretation of these kind of statements as given by most PLC's as we have confidence in continueing to pay ourselves high wages, we are in a strong position having tapped investors for their cash yet again, and take advantage of opportunities likely means give away bonuses and even advantageous risk free share options on top of our salaries. I've come to this conclusion as one loosing money as an investor over a couple of decades. Maybe I should stop believing what Directors say. lol Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 26/11/2009 17:57 by dnfa1975 Views from Dubai: 'The end of the dream' Dubai World has fuelled the emirate's rapid economic growth of recent years One of Dubai's biggest investment companies, Dubai World, has asked for a six-month delay on repaying its debts, raising fears among investors about the financial health of the emirate Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 16/11/2009 16:24 by gac141 Copy of a very exciting comment on Wichford by IC Masurenguy - 24 Aug'09 - 14:19 - 274 of 494 Last weeks IC article on Wichford. Real estate profits 17 August 2009 Simon Thompson If some shrewd property players are right, the UK commercial market is close to bottoming out after all segments - retail, office and industrial - endured valuation falls of over 26% last year and by a hefty 43% since the market peaked in June 2007 (source: IPD UK Annual Property Index). The latest data seems to back this up with the world's largest real estate broker, CB Richard Ellis, confirming that property values turned up in July by 0.2%, the first rise in over two years. Interestingly, although the CBRE data showed that rental values are still falling across all property sectors, firmer yields more than offset the impact on valuations. In other words, investors are now willing to look beyond weakness in rental demand and are seeing value in the attractive yields on offer. I am also seeing value in certain property companies, especially those with high-quality and high-yielding portfolios. The one that appeals the most is Wichford , which at the end of June owned a £534m portfolio of property largely let to government bodies in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Apart from the high quality of its investments and low default risk on its leases, the main attraction of Wichford is its financial gearing to any uplift in property values. With net debt of £480m secured against its portfolio, the company currently has a loan-to-value (LTV) of 90%. This high level of gearing is a result of the dramatic slump in property values, which has seen the company's net asset value collapse from £181m in March 2008 to virtually nil at the end of March this year. So, in effect, with the shares trading at 23p, valuing the company at £31m, they are a geared option on the commercial property market improving. However, it is an option where the risk has moved in our favour because, earlier this month, Wichford announced a heavily discounted and fully underwritten 7-for-1 rights issue at 6p a share, to raise £52.2m net of expenses. The new funds will not only improve Wichford's balance sheet, but will also enable the company to extend the repayment date on £314m of its Delta and Gamma credit lines from October 2010 to October 2012. To enable this, it has sold off five shorter lease properties for £19.8m in order to extend the weighted-average unexpired lease term on the remaining properties. Wichford will then use £30m of the rights issue money, along with the above property sales proceeds and £35m of cash on its balance sheet, to acquire additional longer lease property. This will extend the unexpired lease terms to comply with the covenants on these credit facilities and improve the LTV ratio. It's worth noting that these two credit lines have no LTV covenants, so the only issue here is maintaining an unexpired lease length of at least four-and-a-half years on its Delta properties and six years on its Gamma properties, as well as interest cover above 125 per cent and 115 per cent, respectively, on these borrowings. At the end of June, interest cover was above 146 per cent, so this covenant is relatively comfortable. The most interesting point is that the £314m of credit on the Gamma and Delta facilities is currently secured on property with a LTV of around 100 per cent. The £85m of funds being deployed will reduce the LTV to about 80 per cent, but this still means that the new equity being stumped up in the rights issue remains a highly geared option on the commercial property market improving. In my opinion, investor demand for property is likely to focus mainly on high-quality assets, boasting high occupancy and low default risk. Wichford ticks all the right boxes here, with 60% of its leases index-linked, occupancy rates above 99% for the past four-and-a-half years. Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 14/11/2009 09:05 by gac141 JAMES CAAN, one of the Dragons' Den judges, is to launch a commercial property fund with ING Direct next month on the back of growing confidence in the sector. Caan is the latest high-profile investor to announce an interest, following Nick Leslau, who appeared in Channel 4's Secret Millionaire last year, and Shaf Rasul, another Dragon who appears in the online version of the show. It comes as UK commercial property has registered its first growth in more than two years, climbing 0.2% in August, according to the Investment Property Databank index. It follows a near-50% drop since the 2007 peak. Meanwhile, yields on commercial property (rental income as a proportion of the price) have risen over that time from 4.6% to about 7.9% - more than 10 times the typical easy-access savings account at 0.78% and more than double the yield on 10-year gilts (government bonds) of 3.5%. Related Links Playing the sweet spot for shares while it lasts Big spenders: spend a little money on these The upturn has convinced some of the most sceptical investors to reconsider the sector. Last week, Peter Hargreaves, chief executive of Hargreaves Lansdown, the adviser, said he was positive about the sector for the first time. A number of funds have also been launched. Last month, BDO Stoy Hayward Investment Management launched the UK Strategic Income Property fund with plans for 10% yields. Retail investors are also piling in. Last week, TD Waterhouse, the stockbroker, said listed commercial property companies such as Songbird Estates, which has a stake in London's Canary Wharf, entered its top 10 list of the most-bought stocks for the first time in 18 months. Caan told The Sunday Times he plans to launch his fund, which will require a minimum investment of £200,000, within six weeks. It will target properties, mostly offices, worth between £15m and £30m, with long leases. He is already eying up properties, including a Ministry of Defence building with a 15-year lease and a yield of 7.25%. "We are looking for these long-term quality tenants to ensure a regular income," he said. "The fund is very much geared towards fixed income generation." The fund will be launched by Hamilton Bradshaw, Caan's private-equity business, in partnership with ING Real Estate Investment Management. Chris Morrogh at Threadneedle has been increasing his commercial property holdings. "Although it may be too late to buy at rock bottom prices, it's still not too late to make a sound long-term investment," he said. He built up cash reserves of about 15% in the early part of 2007 but this is now down to 6% and he plans to reduce it further. Recently, he has bought real estate in Swindon and is receiving a yield of 8.5%. He said: "Commercial property, especially those with long leases, with big well-known tenants, offer in-built insulation against economic uncertainty - you will still be paid rent, even if property prices start to fall." Overseas investors, keen to take advantage of the weak pound, are also pushing up prices. Last week, South Korea's $200 billion (£125 billion) state pension fund expressed interest in buying HSBC's Canary Wharf headquarters. For individuals who want to get in, Mick Gilligan of Killik, the broker, said many property stocks were already overpriced and that investors might not be able to pick up the bargains they were hoping for. Shares in British Land, for example, have gained 32% in the past six months alone and the shares are trading at a premium of 28% to net asset value - the value of its underlying property assets. Shares in Land Securities, however, have soared 43%, although they are trading at a 2% discount. Mark Dampier at Hargreaves Lansdown is positive on the sector for the first time in at least six years but warns that storm clouds still loom. He suggests investors "dip their toes" and allocate no more than about 2.5% to 5% of their portfolio to commercial property. He recommends the Threadneedle UK Property trust, a unit trust that buys bricks and mortar. It is down 5.2% over the past year and about 1% over the past six months. This demonstrates one of the key differences between funds that buy bricks and mortar and funds that buy property shares. While the latter have had a strong performance, bricks and mortar funds have lagged - although this means investors who get in now may benefit as the funds play catch up. Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 16/10/2009 22:37 by sandlab Wichford building on recovery hopes Created: 15 October 2009 Written by: Claer Barrett BULL POINTS: Rights issue underpins finances Property markets perking up Safe tenants Highly geared to reviving property market BEAR POINTS: Share price far above net asset value Threat of government cutbacks Shares in property company Wichford have suffered an almighty de-rating since their 2007 peak of 64p, but the factors that pummelled them down could help build them back up now that the property market seems to be turning. And by far the biggest plus? A stable occupancy rate of 99 per cent across its portfolio, because most of it is leased to government tenants in the UK and Europe. Furthermore, 80 per cent of the portfolio has about 10 years until lease expiry, and governments are hardly likely to default. "Rental risk is ultra low and, in the current environment, this marks Wichford out," says analyst Mike Foster at stockbroker Fairfax, who has just issued a buy note on the company. Financial risk is also much reduced. Wichford has raised £52m in a heavily discounted but fully underwritten seven-for-one rights issue at 6p per new share. The proceeds will largely be used to repair and strengthen covenant breaches, and the debt maturity of its loans are set to be favourably extended as a result. However, £30m has been earmarked to purchase new properties on long leases. In addition, existing cash balances of £35m and an expected £20m from property disposals will be put towards further acquisitions as the market bottoms. WICHFORD (WICH) ORD PRICE: 11p MARKET VALUE: £117m TOUCH: 10.5-11p 12M HIGH 19p LOW: 4.5p DIVIDEND YIELD: 5.5% TRADING STOCK: nil PREMIUM TO NAV: 162% INVEST PROPERTIES: £541m NET DEBT: See text Year to 30 Sep Net asset value (p) Pre-tax profit (£m) Earnings per share (p) Dividend per share (p) 2006 87 53.0 21.7 3.8 2007 84 -9.6 -3.4 4.1 2008 36 -130.0 -39.3 2.9 2009* 3 -44.4 -13.6 1.5 2010* 4 15.5 2.5 0.6 % change +24 - - -60 NMS: 20,000 Matched bargain trading BETA: 0.5 The portfolio's European exposure is also attractive (a quarter of rents are received in Euros), and nearly two-thirds of Wichford's leases are index-linked and are thus protected against any jump in inflation. The key risk is cutbacks in public-sector spending leading to options to break leases being exercised. That said, Wichford's portfolio isn't exactly at the expensive end - the average rent is just £12 per sq ft. Investors should also consider the risk that Wichford overpays for new investments because there is already lively competition for long-rented properties. SHARE TIP SUMMARY: BuyHigh occupancy rates and low risk of tenants defaulting explains the big premium to net assets at which Wichford's shares trade. Even so, Wichford is hugely geared to a reviving property market. Broker Fairfax estimates that just a 0.5 percentage point improvement in property yields would add 3.5p to Wichford's net assets, almost double their current level. The broker's forecast (see table) does not reflect an anticipated revaluation gain of £6m in 2009-10 as property values recover. The 0.6p dividend, which is promised by Wichford's bosses, helps to sweeten the risks, too. Buy. Read Full Thread Reply
Posted at 17/9/2009 19:55 by harmonics I bought in without taking due dilligence, having said that the value is in the stock long term. I reckon this could be a 3 bagger from here this year IMO. Property stocks are really climbing (IERE, IPI, WKP, KEIF, WNER + others) if the investors sell for a small profit they will be sorry even in the short term. With the way property stocks are rocketing shorting WICH could be a little risky to say the least Why would investors sell now in this Bull market for a few pence? they are almost certain to make many times that if they don't sell straight away. I saw shorters take a pasting on NTG post RI, the punters didn't sell and were proved right, they 4 bagged from the RI offer value within weeks! Message to shorters...don't think investors are stupid masses, that would be a gross underestimation of their intelect! P.S. sod off scruffydave and ramp somewhere else Read Full Thread Reply

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