Yew Grove reports ‘strong’ rent collection but warns of challenges
STOCK market-listed property investor Yew Grove Reit says rent collection for the first three months of the year has been “strong”.
The company has collected 100pc of its quarterly rents for the period, according to an update from the group.
Quarterly rents account for 90.35pc of its rent roll, with monthly rents accounting for 9.65pc.
All but €3,175 of the monthly amounts due on January 1, 2021 has been collected. If this rate of collection is repeated in February and March, the full quarterly collections will exceed 99.6pc, Yew Grove said.
The 0.4pc of rent not collected relates to non-food retail that has been closed due to the new national lockdown.
In aggregate, the company’s non-food retail rents amount to 0.7pc of the total rent roll.
Jonathan Laredo, chief executive of Yew Grove, said: “We are pleased that despite the ongoing challenges created by the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic, our tenants are still demonstrating business resilience.”
However, he warned that while the vaccine programmes “offer a route out of the current situation”, the renewed lockdown will “continue to make business very difficult for our smaller tenants”.
“I believe the next six months will continue to challenge us all,” said Mr Laredo.
“Whilst we are cautiously optimistic, the vast majority of rents will continue to be paid as they fall due, we will keep the markets updated on any material changes to the situation,” he added.
Last month, Yew Grove said it had progressed in its plans to sell “non-core” properties. As part of this, the company sold a vacant industrial unit in Stillorgan for €1.46m in November.
The company also sold units at Centrepoint Business Park, Clondalkin, county Dublin, for €950,000 in December.
Commenting on today’s update, Goodbody analyst Colm Lauder said: “As with previous quarters, Yew Grove’s high-quality tenant base, with minimal non-food retail (less than 0.7pc of the total rent roll) has meant it has continued to collect rent largely as normal, ensuring security for its dividend distributions.”