Ediston Property Investm... Share Discussion Threads

[alan pt] 22/10/2021 20:05

Interesting to see NRR also planning to move from 20% to 50% retail parks, seems everyone is buying (though I suspect/hope that EPIC will have bought the best ones before NRR sort their finances out)

Not hard to imagine a single purpose retail park REIT ending up trading at a premium in time. Having sold out a bit too early on STP (now MLI) in their refocus, I think I'll sit with EPIC for a while yet

[marktime1231] 22/10/2021 13:17

Not the first time they have signalled a dividend increase, very hopeful of a step up next month. A good report, and hopefully a sale of offices at book NAV or better will allow rotation in to even better yielding retail warehouse schemes where EPIC seems to have the knack and with a pipeline in view.

Superb rent collection and occupancy, whereas REITs with High St retail property are reporting just 70-80% collection rates still.

I note BREI also reporting very positively today, and are intending to concentrate on retail warehouse and industrial/logistics sectors in future. Perhaps this is the alternative to EPIC, although AIRE caught my eye too.

[catch007] 22/10/2021 11:04

Very encouraging update teasing Divi increase on 4th November? Stirling park will assist NAV in Q4. The Rent collection is strong at 99.9%. I dont see the office portfolio being sold as a fire sale it will be a steady reduction as the strategy is implemented over time.

[nickrl] 22/10/2021 10:39

Positive update but selling the entire office portfolio will throw off a lot of cash so i do hope they have a plan to recycle it back quicker than the Prestatyn sale but i also fear that the bargain priced opportunities in retail pks have gone so it will take longer to find the right opportunity. To me this is why the divi hasn't been lifted as they know there will be a loss of income which may take a while to recover.

[frazboy] 22/10/2021 08:49

Interesting that the board's expectation is for an increase in the divi, whilst offloading the office assets. Other than reducing the LTV, what are we to expect them to do with the proceeds?

[hugepants] 22/10/2021 08:43

Great if todays NAV includes the proposed sale price of the office assets

[spectoacc] 22/10/2021 07:22

Offices a drag, but:

" In line with the investment strategy announced by the Company last quarter, discussions are at an advanced stage with regards to the sale of the office assets.

· Rent collection continues to improve and the dividend is still well-covered. It remains the Board's expectation that it should be able to increase the dividend further in the coming months."

[marktime1231] 21/10/2021 19:54

Thanks all very interesting. I deliberately steered away from REITs with exposure to offices and High St retail, but would be happy with diversification in healthcare, logistics, industrial etc. These days you seem to have to pick trusts which specialise, and I have left it too late to find bargains. A couple of suggestions to look at thanks.

[catch007] 21/10/2021 17:13

I hold a number of REITs that provide different property sector opportunities. Last mile logistics such as BBOX, ASLI etc, Healthcare REITs alongside EPIC, AEWU, BREI and BCPT which were all heavily impacted by COVID and I have been gradually adding over the period as they have been recovering including recent addition in SERE. In an inflationary environment good property holdings should still prove robust over the long term (noting pure retail will remain under pressure) and provide a steady income stream.

marktime: there is no right or wrong answer to your view. I take a blended overall risk perspective so hope that both BCPT & EPIC will add value on their individual respective merits. The challenge is avoiding another winter Covid lockdown that will halt progress.

[spectoacc] 21/10/2021 17:03

@marktime - St Christopher's Place is what makes BCPT unique. At some point, the West End weighting becomes an asset not a drag (see SHB's RNS yesterday).

It's done +5p to NAV the past two qtrs, with more to come, has a massive buyback buying in at a big discount, and is liquid, unlike EPIC.

But I do like EPIC too.

If there's a flaw in BCPT, it's the offices - I'd like to see them sell a few more. BREI much better in that regard, but lower income. Be interesting to see what EPIC get for their offices.

[skyship] 21/10/2021 16:44

marktime

EPIC too my largest REIT; however also still holding the majority of my:

# SREI - 50.3p - Disc. 20% (Jun'21) - Yld 5.37%

and a fair whack of:

# AIRE - 73p - Disc. 14.7% (Jun'21) - Yld 7.04%, but prospective 7.53%

Have sold down most of my BREI - just a small rump remaining...

[marktime1231] 21/10/2021 16:28

I can understand when you have a history in a long standing REIT, but what makes BCPT unique or a comparably good investment? More diversified?

At a glance it pays lower income but exposes you to the same risk, discount, ups and downs. Why is BCPT a better NAV recovery prospect than EPIC, both are due an uprating and both have improving payments monthly. BMO pay themselves a higher fee, have lower gearing and use some cash for buyback rather than distribution.

Perhaps it is the property equivalent of CTY, a stalwart without necessarily being a star performer? My whole property bet on EPIC at the moment, but happy to learn something and rebalance if there is a more diversified alternative with good income eg 6%.

[catch007] 21/10/2021 16:14

I hold both epic & bcpt as part of my income portfolio. Both provide monthly dividend (which offsets my SIPP fees) and BCPT is imho recovering nicely now. EPIC is positioning as a pure retail warehousing play and I believe the sector and portfolio shows resilience, hoping that yield compression is mirrored with a div uplift, 6-7p NAV increase may be a stretch but very happy if achieved.

[spectoacc] 21/10/2021 12:49

I'm a big fan of EPIC but BCPT by far my largest holding. Unique asset and going higher IMO.

Yield compression = rent psq on the rise, boosting valuation of existing property.

Be surprised if EPIC finds 6-7p but do think Haddington due an uplift now complete.

We'll know soon enough.

[marktime1231] 21/10/2021 11:40

By yield compression I understand BCPT to mean that the outlook for rental collection is more secure and the prospect for rental prices is stronger but without actually increasing, and we have already seen that similar good news is coming our way from the trend in EPICs preceeding updates. EPIC has also been trading and investing in assets.

Both those features should mean an upward valuation of EPIC NAV maybe +6-7p in line with BCPTs would not surprise me.

The yield in percentage terms gets compressed as a result of the denominator increasing. It is an unhelpful way of describing a positive situation though. Dividends, the numerator, are also being improved in absolute terms, cover has improved and another step up is due. And actually BCPT just stepped up their monthly payment too, from 0.35p to 0.375p in line with the NAV advance.

Despite which their share price has hardly responded today. Worth noting that BCPT is a much much lower yielding REIT and has been buying back shares but also trades on a wide discount. But then I don't understand why anyone would seek to invest in BCPT because in comparison EPIC is equally as secure (or not) but twice as rewarding. What is the appeal of BCPT over EPIC to new or existing investors?

I remain optimistic of EPICs dividend being stepped up to an annual 5.5p and the share price jumping into the low-mid 80s as NAV is uprated.

[hugepants] 21/10/2021 09:02

Fair point. I'd still expect anticipate a 4%-5% increase.

[spectoacc] 21/10/2021 08:40

That they did, tho the next sentence worth quoting:

"...This was a result of market yield compression and store openings, following the capital initiatives undertaken over the last 12 months."


Not sure how much capital they've put in - the yield compression part is good at least.

Should hear soon enough from EPIC.

[hugepants] 21/10/2021 08:34

Fyi bcpt this morning reported a 7.6% increase in retail warehouse values for q3

[2wild] 20/10/2021 21:06

Should get 30th September NAV and a rent collection update within next few days. Expecting 90.5p NAV and possible 8% increased dividend to 0.45p per month, from November.
Anticipate these will rise to 82p in next few weeks.

[marktime1231] 11/10/2021 11:43

Good to read other REITs (LXI, Secure Income) reporting 100% rent collections and assets being valued higher. Bodes well for EPIC. I think the additional update in early Nov will bring the expected news of the dividend being upgraded to 0.4583.

[nickrl] 07/10/2021 10:16

I see they've dropped the additional update they used to provide with these on state of rental collection. OK things are a lot better but normality hasn't returned fully so would have been a useful indicator.

[cwa1] 07/10/2021 07:14

Declaration of Interim Dividend

The Company declares its interim dividend (property income distribution) payment in respect of the period from 1 to 30 September 2021 of 0.4167 pence per share, as timetabled below:


Ex-Dividend 14 October
Date:
Record Date: 15 October
Pay Date: 29 October

This monthly dividend of 0. 4167 pence per share equates to an annualised dividend level of 5 .00 pence per

share and is unchanged from the previous dividend declared on 2 September .

[catch007] 29/9/2021 11:02

marktime1231 - Good update from SERE yesterday may be worth a look for your income portfolio as dividend increasing. I have a holding here and looking to add.

[marktime1231] 28/9/2021 19:52

May not have timed that right, global markets having a wobble and dragging us down just when I thought it was set to turn up again. Oh well, still very confident EPIC is heading for the 80s.

[catch007] 28/9/2021 18:47

marktime1231: My summer trades in EPIC were all geared towards 80p+ then medium term target. Like you I am convinced NAV & dividend progress can only drive the share price forward. I am unsure if the remaining units at Haddington have been let, that would be helpful.