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WICH Wichford

6.30
0.00 (0.00%)
28 Mar 2024 - Closed
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Wichford LSE:WICH London Ordinary Share GB00B01V9H13 ORD 1P
  Price Change % Change Share Price Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  0.00 0.00% 6.30 - 0.00 00:00:00
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
0 0 N/A 0

Wichford Share Discussion Threads

Showing 501 to 524 of 775 messages
Chat Pages: 31  30  29  28  27  26  25  24  23  22  21  20  Older
DateSubjectAuthorDiscuss
17/11/2009
11:44
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Real-estate investment trust British Land PLC (BLND.LN) Tuesday reported the first rise in the value of its assets since the recession hit property markets and it has started making acquisitions, but it said that it was still cautious due to the property downturn.

The company said that a positive shift in investor appetite combined with limited stock, have helped market valuations since June. It warned, however, that transaction volumes remained low and that it was "mindful that the waves caused by the financial maelstrom of the last two years have not yet settled."

The portfolio, including the group's share of joint ventures, rose 1.4% in value in the second quarter to GBP8.29 billion although it has fallen 2.4% over the past six months. Net asset value was up 3.1% in the second quarter to 372 pence per share, but down 6.5% from March, 2009.

The results mirrored those of central London landlord Great Portland Estates PLC (GPOR.LN) last week and signal a revival of the property market after more than two years of falling property valuations as the dearth of finance crimped demand. Landlords now are coming back to the market to make acquisitions.

British Land earlier in November created new executive roles to prepare for acquisitions and investments. Chief Executive Chris Grigg told reporters Tuesday that he had invested GBP128 million in retail and Central London offices, made further bids for GBP500 million of property and was screening a further GBP2 billion of potential investments.

The CEO said that some of the opportunities were outside the company's core sectors of offices and retail but didn't elaborate beyond saying he was interested in expanding in Europe. Some 3% of British Land's assets are in Europe. Grigg said the bulk of the outlays would be invested in the company's core markets of retail and offices.

British Land reported its loan-to-value ratio at 29% with GBP3.3 billion of cash and undrawn facilities.

But, at 1000 GMT, its shares fell 10 pence, or 2%, to 494 pence in a broadly weaker London market amid concerns about the outlook for the real-estate market and a NAV lower than expected by some analysts.

Arbuthnot analyst Nan Rogers said she was "less optimistic than the market as to the outlook for investment property," while Evolution Securities' Alan Carter said there were "lots of concern about the economy, tenant demand, bank debt and how it all pans out, which is understandable." Still, Carter added that British Land released a strong statement overall.

British Land's letting have also improved. It expects to collect an extra GBP8.1 million in annual rent from rent reviews and lease renewals on 2.8 million square feet of space and 510,000 square feet of new lettings. At the same time, the proportion of occupiers in administration fell to 0.8% of total rent from 1.8% in March.

British Land's portfolio is 94% let, with 98% of current rent still contracted in three years' time.

The board has recommended a 6.5 pence second-quarter dividend, matching the first-quarter payout, which was distributed last week.

gac141
17/11/2009
08:11
LG

Agreed. This is my biggest holding by far my average is 20p due to a large purchase at 1.39. Here's hoping for a decent divi and a good reval for the next set of results

q

quazie12
16/11/2009
19:16
quazie - I wish - I was a 'newbie' at £1.43, 99p and 35p. I averaged down every time and then averaged down quite drastically at 7p along with many other people on here. My average is now around 15p, so a 0.5p divi on that would give me a yield of 3.5%. Not very exciting, but I still believe we have a good future and that 2010 will see me finally turn a profit on this lot.
lord gnome
16/11/2009
17:28
Lord Gnome

I agree I think we will see a divi of about 0.3p to 0.5p which at the top end will represent a 2% yield on my total outlay. If you were a newbie at 10p then it will be a nice chunky 5% yield. On our new shares it is a very good yield 8.33%

q12

quazie12
16/11/2009
16:24
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.

gac141
16/11/2009
10:58
yes the 8.05 deal was mine. Its hard to see why a £9k deal should be delayed in reporting for 1 hour.
I intend to buy again later today.

hybrasil
16/11/2009
09:55
I cant imagine there is a better geared play on commercial property values.
droid
16/11/2009
09:42
is that yours at 8.05am hybrasil?

showing as a sell by the way

mattyd
16/11/2009
08:08
bought another 100k this am
hybrasil
14/11/2009
12:13
As I've said many times, 2010 will be our year.
lord gnome
14/11/2009
09:09
If you look all the signs are there.

The Telegraph.

Commercial property: the bears are turning bullish
Peter Hargreaves, who had a spat with John Duffield over the prospects for commercial property, has turned bullish for the first time in six years.

gac141
14/11/2009
09:05
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%.

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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.

gac141
14/11/2009
09:02
Interesting to see HSBC Sell London HQ.

LONDON-HSBC Holdings PLC said Friday it had agreed to sell its London headquarters building to the National Pension Service of Korea for £772 million ($1.3 billion).

The move to sell its 8 Canada Square property in Canary Wharf, London's financial area, comes a month after the bank announced the sale of its New York headquarters building to Israeli investment holding company IDB Group for $330 million.

HSBC will remain in the building, and control its occupancy, paying a rent of £46 million a year, the bank said.

BBC says that commercial property is coming back into fashion.

gac141
14/11/2009
06:27
I bought yesterday as well.I reckon its due a run. You could easily make 10/15% here very short term
hybrasil
13/11/2009
19:39
hope so! be nice to 150p again !
rcktmn
13/11/2009
18:30
On the turn....
smishman
13/11/2009
17:02
Bought in fairly big finally today. Maybe the shorters have gone long...
gac141
13/11/2009
16:56
two days of rises for a change. does this mean the rump has been cleared? we shall see....
mattyd
13/11/2009
15:41
We now have over a billion shares in issue. To pay a divi of 1.5p would cost the company over £15 million. They aren't going to earn that much money. About half that would be my best guesstimate. If we do see a final divi we might just see a token 0.5p if we are lucky and I would be very pleased and very surprised with that.
lord gnome
13/11/2009
08:24
LG

Why do you think not ? They just paid the interim. The portfolio cashflows positive v debt.

If they don't it will only be to strengthen balance sheet. Personally I think they would rather try for another Rights Issue than not pay the divi. Just an opinion.

q

quazie12
12/11/2009
20:56
Not a chance.
lord gnome
12/11/2009
18:13
will they pay a full year dividnd of 1.5p a share?
dnfa1975
10/11/2009
13:24
Nonsense - 5p was not 'just a tad' under the RI price !

The lowest RI price was effectively 8p since you already had to own stock to be eligible to participate in the 7 to 1 placing at 6p. A base price of 8p also would only applied to people who bought in at the bottom which will be a minority. I would guess that most holders here are averaged in within a range of 9p - 12p.

masurenguy
10/11/2009
12:27
5p on the way - just a tad under the RI price?
whiterussians
Chat Pages: 31  30  29  28  27  26  25  24  23  22  21  20  Older

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