Ediston Property Investm... Share Discussion Threads

[cheshire man] 04/11/2021 07:32

5% not to be sniffed at :-)

[skyship] 04/11/2021 07:29

Don't know why they're being so coy about increasing that dividend!

[cwa1] 04/11/2021 07:16

Announcement of Interim Dividend

Declaration of Interim Dividend

The Company declares its interim dividend (property income distribution) payment in respect of the period from 1 to 31 October 2021 of 0.4167 pence per share, as timetabled below:


Ex-Dividend 11 November
Date:
Record Date: 12 November
Pay Date: 30 November

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 7 October

[marktime1231] 03/11/2021 21:33

The other news to watch for, of course, is the Nov dividend announcement stepping the annual rate up to 5.5p, whether or not with a trading update to demonstrate sufficient income to mean the new payment is well covered.

As soon as tomorrow?

[spectoacc] 03/11/2021 14:54

Interesting to see AIRE fans, I wasn't impressed with that NAV update, considering the mainly index-linked rents, and the NAV increases on the likes of BREI, BCPT etc.

Agree with comments on offices - it's going to be a long slog for many. Main plus is the number already converted to resi/lack of new building (ex City).

[flyer61] 03/11/2021 14:10

Having noted the Ernst and Young partner bonus share they mentioned less costs in the business. Specifically WFH. If they think they can continue to coin it in with this business model then WFH it is.....

[hindsight] 03/11/2021 13:48

Flyer61, latest first hand information I have is developers are getting 2 days minimum a week in the office employment contracts, so ties in. Would imagine they are one of the better able to WFH

[skyship] 03/11/2021 13:46

chucko - re CLI - Indeed, that parsimonious yield is/has been a drawback; but they are working on a REIT move of the UK division, so yield will increase. (see today's update).

[chucko1] 03/11/2021 13:31

At 3.5% div yield, I would hope that it is well covered even at sub-100% collection. I have not followed it much at all, so excuse my basic knowledge.

[skyship] 03/11/2021 13:25

Good debate here...

Chucko - re offices - after their Update today I've bought back into 92% Office play CLI. IMO the 35% discount is rather overdoing the pessimism over WFH.

I also believe that the controlling family trust will at some stage bow to the inevitability of asset diversification and income requirements; and sell their 45% stake to Private Equity. "At some stage" - well, I suggest Q1'22.

[chucko1] 03/11/2021 12:15

Flyer, I think offices will be a longish slog with mid 2022 being the timeframe to significantly change peoples' attitudes. There will be a WFH increase as we enter winter but I take the view that we will then be way past the worst and without the fear of a significant resurgence.

I also added AIRE this morning and have a mountain of EPIC!! I did sell a few EPIC (too overweight and the price has moved higher yet again) to buy AIRE although I have a lot of cash right now (not a forced sale).

[flyer61] 03/11/2021 11:37

Having just returned from London I still have worries on what the office sector will look like in 2 - 5 years from now. My son who has started work recently (Uni grad) is only going to the office two days a week. He said when he goes in there are only a handful of people about.

Really glad my number 1 US Real estate holding is STAG and has been for a number of years now.

Have added more AIRE this morning (2 x 10K trades)as I already have a mountain of EPIC.

[chucko1] 03/11/2021 11:21

My view is that the sale of the office portfolio by EPIC will tell us the state of play in that sector (offices) and that will be useful information. And EPIC remains with a "higher opportunity" portfolio in RW with diminished diversification. However, all one has to do is make ones own portfolio of, say, EPIC and RGL if you wish to retain diversification and exposure to offices.

There are some US office REITs which are pretty cheap, so there is currently a global statement that investors are unsure where the office market is heading. I am looking to increase my exposure in that sector as I feel it is still unduly suffering.

[marktime1231] 03/11/2021 11:03

I think that Land Securities sale of regional retail parks was a story back in September, swimming against the tide of opinion, raising capital from its investments where it feels it lacks scale and competitive advantage, intending to focus on London and other city centre mixed-use regeneration developments. Didn't LAND just offer for U&I? My conclusion is that it had new opportunities where it needed the cash, and was aware it had realisable value in its retail parks for which there is a queue of buyers.

Good then for the likes of EPIC looking to acquire further schemes.

The news for us to watch for now is whether EPIC sell its remaining office portfolio for more than book value, and the quality of the investments it uses the money on.

[flyer61] 03/11/2021 09:10

EDISTON BUYS EXPOSURE TO RETAIL PARK REVIVAL - PEEL HUNT
(Sharecast News) - Ediston Property is an attractive way to buy into the revival of UK retail parks, Peel Hunt said in a positive note about the sector.
Out of town retail parks have performed better than high streets and shopping centres during the pandemic and that trend is set to continue, the broker said.

Retail parks are smaller than shopping centres and will not suffer comparable oversupply, Peel Hunt said. They are also more affordable for tenants and more accessible for shoppers.

Space is more adaptable, the sites are easier to manage and they are "digestible" for potential buyers compared with shopping centres, Peel Hunt said. The broker's analysts pointed out that Next's stores at retail parks have outperformed.

There are nine real estate investment trusts with shopping centres comprising more than 5% of their portfolios, Peel Hunt said. The biggest holder in absolute terms is British Land, whose assets make up almost 60% of the £2.4bn owned by the biggest nine companies.

Ediston has the biggest relative exposure with 74% - and this would increase to abut 98% if the company sells its offices, as flagged up in October, Peel Hunt said.

The company trades at a 14% discount to net asset value and has a 6.5% dividend yield, the broker said. After Ediston the next biggest exposures to retail parks are at NewRiver with 21% and Custodian with 18%.

"Although it is not in our coverage universe, and its current £165m market capitalisation may limit its appeal to some, [Ediston's] current rating and its exposure to retail parks screen as attractive," analyst Matthew Saperia and his team said in a note to investors. "Following a recent c£22m acquisition in Stirling it owns a portfolio of 11 retail parks. With the sale of its c£70m office portfolio it should have additional firepower to take advantage of other accretive opportunities."

a

[spectoacc] 03/11/2021 08:18

Less encouraging if you're trying to offload offices to buy retail parks! Do hope EPIC don't get too gutsy.

[bondholder] 03/11/2021 08:14

24 September 2021FTSE 100 property developer and landlord Land Securities has agreed to sell two retail parks, in a move that will help contribute funds to its focus on London projects.The company said the disposals of sites in Cumbria and Blackpool total £54.3 million, marking a 15% premium to their March book value.Premium to book value is encouraging !

[skyship] 03/11/2021 07:19

AIRE's positive Divi/Rent/NAV update this morning also commenting on the strength in the RW sector.

[nickrl] 02/11/2021 21:15

Just hope they have some options in play once they sell the office portfolio

[marktime1231] 02/11/2021 19:16

A positive note from Peel Hunt today saying that the retail park warehouse sector is winning the commercial property game, and despite only being a £175M fund eg lacking scale they highlight the premium 6.5% yield from EPIC which is already 74% concentrated on the sub-sector and likely to become more so as it divests offices.

Keep tightly concentrated, efficient, nimble and sustainably high yielding I say, who needs scale.

[marktime1231] 27/10/2021 11:38

Ordinarily I would agree that scale brings various benefits. But EPIC is nimble and can outperform while focused on its retail warehouse niche, so we are getting a great return. In EPICs case a merger would make us more average, dilute performance, diversify the portfolio, reduce the income, in return for an increase in its financial stability and sustainability, slightly lower costs perhaps ... turn it into another BCPT or BREI. Why would you?

So no, for now, EPIC as a standalone REIT with high Retail Warehouse focus and leading returns is exactly where I want to be. If it wants the benefits of scale why not just expand?

And yes, if you want to reduce stock or support the share price why not give the manager a discretionary discount-management mandate to buy back on the open market with surplus capital. Or indeed issue some fresh stock when things turn to a premium. Or does the distribution requirement of a REIT make that more difficult, compared to conventional ITs?

[hindsight] 27/10/2021 10:26

Frazboy, doing a tender would be costly vs a share buyback that adds value via the discount to those staying onboard. Still think these small reits need merging, reduce overheads

[frazboy] 27/10/2021 10:10

I'll answer my own question, I doubt they will as the assumption must be that there are other assets out there at still reasonable prices (The Stirling retail park, for example) suitable for reinvesting the proceeds.

[frazboy] 25/10/2021 09:01

Anyone think they may sell off the office portfolio, reduce LTV a little, and then do a tender offer? Is the NAV discount sufficient? This all assumes the office portfolio is sold at around NAV.

[skyship] 24/10/2021 08:53

Alan - agreed. I always sell too soon - a fault of over 50yrs! An old dog of limited talents; but happily moderately successful at this game...

Pleased to see R/W now up to 74.1%. Also pleased to see an increase in LTV @ 36.1%. IMO crazy not to gear up at ultra-low interest rates in rising markets. Only slight drawback (tho' not a worry) is the 23.4% allocation to Scotland.

On valuation grounds, interesting to note that even at 85p (5.1% disc.) they would still be on a prospective yield (5.5p divi) of 6.47%.

Reckon I'll stay with these even though now exceeding my usual 10% MAX allocation.