Third Quarter Company Update
NewRiver REIT plc reported a strong third quarter with £2.1 million in annualised income from 234,500 sq ft of new lettings and renewals, achieving occupancy of 96.1% and a 91% retailer retention rate. The company completed £12.6 million in disposals during Q3 and has exchanged contracts for a further £26.5 million, targeting approximately £40 million in disposals for the second half of the year. Significant regeneration progress includes a conditional agreement for a JV in Burgess Hill and an agreement for lease at the Capitol Centre in Cardiff, reducing the portfolio weighting to Work Out and Other assets to 1%. Customer spending in-store was in-line with the prior year, with notable growth in Grocery, Non-Food Discount, F&B, and Health & Beauty segments.
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Allan Lockhart, Chief Executive, commented: "We delivered another strong quarter of operational performance, with growing demand across our core markets driving strong leasing activity and rising occupancy. We remained disciplined in recycling capital, improving our portfolio quality and strengthening our financial position.
With market conditions becoming more supportive and our portfolio in its best shape since before the pandemic, we move into FY27 with real momentum. We are confident in our ability to deliver further earnings growth and a well covered dividend."
Another strong quarter of leasing performance
| ● | During Q3 completed 234,500 sq ft of new lettings and renewals, securing £2.1 million in annualised income across 98 transactions; long-term transactions were completed in-line with ERV and +56.9% vs prior rent |
| ● | Key leasing transactions in Q3 include deals with Boots and B&M in Middlesbrough and H&M in Bexleyheath |
| ● | Year to date completed 650,800 sq ft of leasing, with long-term transactions +8.2% vs ERV and +31.1% vs prior rent |
| ● | Ongoing constructive discussions to mitigate the impact of H1 retailer restructurings and no subsequent restructurings announced |
Operational metrics trending positively supported by resilient consumer spend data1
| ● | Occupancy increased to 96.1% (vs 95.3% at 30 September 2025) and retailer retention rate remains high at 91% |
| ● | Total in-store customer spending in the important Christmas quarter was in-line with last year. We saw strong performance in Grocery which is our largest spending segment with +6.2% vs same quarter last year |
| ● | Total in-store customer spending for the year to December 2025 was also in-line with last year; Non-Food Discount delivered +7.2% sales growth, F&B +4.0% and Health & Beauty +2.4%, offsetting some weakness in Value Fashion at -1.1% |
| ● | As of 1 April 2026, the new rateable values across our portfolio are expected to increase by 7%, which is more than offset by the recently announced discount for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, resulting in an 11% reduction in rates payable for our tenants. This is positive for our tenants and supports our rental affordability |
| ● | Snozone performance ahead of prior year and budget with Q3 delivering EBITDA of £2.0 million vs loss of £1.6 million in H1 due to seasonality; year to date EBITDA £0.4 million, again ahead of prior year and budget with most profitable quarter to come in Q4 |
On target to complete c.£40 million of disposals in H2 in-line with book values
| ● | During Q3, completed the disposals of The Marlowes in Hemel Hempstead and Sprucefield Retail Park in Lisburn for combined proceeds of £12.6 million (NRR share); The Marlowes was the smallest asset acquired as part of the Capital & Regional transaction, accounting for 2% of the acquired portfolio by value; Sprucefield Retail Park was held in our Capital Partnership with BRAVO and its disposal means only one asset remains in this partnership (The Moor in Sheffield) |
| ● | In January 2026, exchanged contracts on the disposal of Cuckoo Bridge Retail Park in Dumfries for proceeds of £26.5 million, subject to conditions expected to be discharged during Q4 |
| Significant Regeneration and Work Out progress | |
| ● | In December 2025, entered into a conditional agreement to form a JV with Mid Sussex District Council to deliver the mixed-use regeneration of The Martlets shopping centre in Burgess Hill, Mid Sussex; the JV is expected to be formalised by the end of March 2026 once a series of conditions have been realised, including the sale of the residential site which is under offer, and pre-lets of the food store and hotel for which the legal negotiations are well advanced |
| ● | In January 2026, agreement for lease signed with experiential leisure operator on c.80,000 sq ft which will re-position the Capitol Centre in Cardiff as a Core asset and reduces the portfolio weighting to Work Out and Other to 1% from 3% at 30 September 2025 |
| 1. | NewRiver analysis, informed by Lloyds Bank data on customer spend representing 94% of the portfolio by value. Christmas period includes the 3 months to December |
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