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Q3 Company Update

In brief · summary, not quotable

Capital & Regional acquisition completed in December; combined portfolio of £0.9bn with 96% occupancy and strong Christmas trading.

  • Combined portfolio value £0.9bn
  • Capital & Regional acquisition price £151m
  • Portfolio occupancy (combined) 96%
  • NewRiver occupancy 98%
  • In-store spend growth (Q3) +5.3%
  • Gross debt post-acquisition £444m
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Increased scale and strong trading period underpin positive outlook

Allan Lockhart, Chief Executive, commented: "We had a successful third quarter, with the key highlight being the completion of the transformational acquisition of Capital & Regional Plc in December, which provided increased scale and will deliver significant future benefits, including a material increase in our earnings and dividends. The newly combined portfolio remains focused on providing essential goods and services to UK consumers and is performing well, with tenant sales at our assets significantly outperforming the UK average. As a consequence of this, our operational metrics remain strong, with rents on new leases exceeding previous levels and occupancy increased to 98% in the NewRiver portfolio, and at 96% across the newly combined portfolio.

We are moving at pace with the integration of the Capital & Regional business to deliver the synergies outlined at the time of the acquisition which, with the portfolio performing well and growth from capital partnerships, mean we are well positioned to deliver sector leading returns over both the short and the medium term."

Capital & Regional acquisition delivers scale, material earnings accretion and opportunities to add value

  • In December 2024 NewRiver completed the acquisition of Capital & Regional for £151m, funded through a combination of cash and shares; pricing implies a discount to Net Assets of 14% based on £350m 1 portfolio valuation
  • The acquisition increased the size of NewRiver's portfolio by 65% to create a £0.9bn 2 portfolio through the combination of high-quality, complementary assets with similarly low-risk tenant profile and attractive income characteristics
  • Expected to deliver mid-to high-teens accretion to UFFO per share by unlocking approximately £6.2m of annual cost synergies; to be unlocked within 12 months of completion on an annualised basis, with excellent progress already made since completion
  • Immediately post completion, the Group repaid three of Capital & Regional's secured debt facilities totalling £59m with a blended cost of 6.1%, leaving NewRiver with £444m of gross debt with a blended cost of 3.5%

Spend outperformance and year-on-year growth in Christmas trading period3

  • NewRiver's occupiers experienced strong in-store spending through the Christmas period, demonstrating we own the right assets, in the right locations
  • Total in-store spend growth within the NewRiver portfolio was +5.3% year-on-year in the three months to December
  • Significant spend outperformance of 2.5 times relative to the UK average growth in retail and supermarket spend of +2.0%
  • Best performing sub-sectors were Discount and Value, Opticians, Health and Beauty, Home, F&B and Leisure

Strong operational metrics underpinning future growth

  • Combined portfolio occupancy of 96%, NewRiver standalone occupancy of 98% vs NewRiver standalone of 97% at 30 September 2024
  • 261,800 sq ft of new lettings and renewals completed in Q3 across the combined portfolio; long-term transactions at average 6.4% premium to ERV and 13.6% premium to previous rent
  • Year to date in FY25, including Capital & Regional assets in Q3 only, we have completed 668,200 sq ft of leasing transactions; long-term transactions at average 5.7% premium to ERV and 5.7% premium to previous rent
  • Capital Partnerships expanded further in Q3: appointed to manage Plough Lane Retail Park in Wimbledon, taking the total number of assets managed on behalf of M&G Real Estate to 17 retail parks and two shopping centres; in addition awarded a new public sector mandate meaning we now manage 22 shopping centres and 18 retail parks on behalf of Capital Partners, taking our total Assets Under Management to £2.5bn
  • NewRiver commissioned Knight Frank, which values the majority of NewRiver's existing portfolio, to conduct an external valuation of the Capital & Regional portfolio in accordance with the latest version of the RICS Valuation - Global Standards, (the "Red Book"), as part of its acquisition due diligence
  • Proforma for acquisition of Capital & Regional which completed on 10 December 2024, using Knight Frank valuation of Capital & Regional portfolio at 30 June 2024 of £350m
  • NewRiver analysis, informed by Lloyds Bank data on customer spend representing 75% of the portfolio by value. Christmas period includes the 3 months to December

Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.

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