Great Portland Estates (LSE:GPE) set FY27 rental growth guidance of 4.0-7.0% (4.0-8.0% for prime offices) and said it is confident it can deliver a cost-of-capital beating outcome in the forthcoming financial year.
The claim is underpinned by a record leasing year that secured 88 new leases and renewals generating £70.9m of annual rent, 10.3% ahead of March 2025 ERV, while EPRA NTA per share rose to 524p (up 6.1%) and EPRA EPS increased 63.5% to 8.5p.
"We delivered many of the core components of our contra-cyclical strategy, beating expectations; record levels of leasing, opportunistic acquisitions at a discount, £0.5bn of asset sales at a premium and the completion of some of the highest quality spaces in our capital city," Toby Courtauld, Chief Executive, said.
Rent roll rose 46% on a like-for-like basis to £153.6m and the group says there is a further 95% of organic growth potential from its pipeline.
The portfolio valuation was £3bn, up 4.3% like-for-like, development values were up 22.2%, IFRS profit after tax was £154.5m and return on equity for the year was 7.9%.
Capital recycling included four disposals totalling £490m at a 2.3% premium to March 2025 book value, two acquisitions of £69m, a new five-year £525m RCF and an EPRA LTV of 28.6% with a Baa2 rating from Moody’s.
Development progress saw 2 Aldermanbury Square complete on time and budget and 100% pre-let, three on-site HQ schemes c.50% pre-let and an expected combined development surplus of £131m at current rents and yields.
