SEGRO’s profit has grown by 6.4% to £140m during the six months ending 30 June, driven by robust demand for e-commerce and data space on the back of the Covid-19 crisis.
Portfolio value inched up by 0.7% to £11.25bn, compared with the previous year.
Adjusted NAV per share rose by 2.6% year-on-year to 718p.
Its development pipeline has expanded to more than 8.6m sq ft, the majority of which has been prelet, along with a “near-term pipeline of potential prelets that is roughly twice the size as at the same stage last year”.
More than £1bn of new equity and debt financing was secured during the period. LTV stood at 22%.
The company’s interim dividend increased by 9.5% to 6.9p.
SEGRO noted e-commerce penetration had “accelerated markedly” across all markets; there is a renewed focus on the efficiency and resilience of supply chains; and increasing demand for data centre space to support remote working and video streaming services.
These trends will drive occupier and investor demand for warehousing in core logistics and urban locations, it said.
David Sleath, chief executive, said: “The impacts of the pandemic are accelerating the adoption of technology, particularly e-commerce, across society and have resulted in a renewed focus by many occupiers on the critical importance of efficient, resilient logistics supply chains.
“These factors play to the quality of our portfolio and should continue to support and enhance occupier and investor demand for our prime warehouses, both in the UK and, increasingly, on the continent.”
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