Results for the six months ended 30 June 2022

Commenting on the results, David Sleath, Chief Executive, said:

“SEGRO has performed well during the first six months of 2023, delivering rental growth from our standing portfolio and from our largely pre-let development programme. We have made great progress in capturing reversion, delivering an average rental uplift of 20 per cent at lease events during the period in addition to contracted indexation, whilst customer retention has increased significantly to 85 per cent.

“The structural drivers of occupier demand remain evident across the UK and Europe, whilst supply remains constrained in our chosen markets, helping to drive rental growth in line with our expectations.

“Valuations have been relatively stable in the first half of this year, following the deep valuation correction in the latter part of 2022. The increased volume of transactions in the last quarter indicates that investors see value at the current levels of pricing for prime industrial and logistics assets, given the positive long-term outlook for our sector.

“We have significant opportunities to drive rent and create value both within our standing portfolio and through the execution of our profitable development programme. These factors give us confidence in our ability to deliver attractive growth and returns into the years ahead.”

Highlights^A:

• Adjusted pre-tax profit of £198 million up 2.6 per cent compared with the prior year (H1 2022: £193 million1), Adjusted EPS is 15.9 pence, up 1.9 per cent (H1 2022: 15.6 pence1) excluding the impact of performance fees from our SELP joint venture.
• Adjusted NAV per share is down 3.0 per cent to 937 pence (31 December 2022: 966 pence) driven by a 1.4 per cent decrease in the valuation of the portfolio (UK -0.6 per cent, CE -2.7 per cent), due to outward yield shift, mitigated by 3.7 per cent growth in estimated rental values during the first half of the year.
• Like-for-like rental growth of 5.1 per cent and £44 million of new headline rent commitments generated during the six-month period (H1 2022: £55 million), driven by our customer focus and active management of the portfolio.
• 340,900 sq m of development completions were delivered, equating to £28 million of potential rent, of which 83 per cent of which is leased. 85 per cent of these completions were BREEAM ‘Excellent’ certification (or local equivalent).
• Future rent roll growth supported by our active development pipeline with 740,800 sq m of projects under construction or in advanced pre-let discussions equating to £76 million of potential rent (31 December 2022: 915,600 sq m, £86 million), of which 70 per cent is associated with pre-lets signed or in advanced negotiations, substantially de-risking the 2023-24 pipeline. Yield on cost for these projects is 7.2 per cent.
• Strong balance sheet, with a modest level of gearing and significant liquidity. LTV of 34 per cent at 30 June 2023 (31 December 2022: 32 per cent) and access to £1.7 billion of cash and committed bank facilities. 
• Attractive cost of debt due to our diverse, long-term debt structure. No major debt maturities until 2026 and 91 per cent of debt is fixed or capped with half of the caps active until 2029. Average cost of debt at 30 June 2023 was 2.9 per cent (31 December 2022: 2.5 per cent).
• Interim dividend increased by 7.4 per cent to 8.7 pence (2022: 8.1 pence).

^1. Adjusted profit before tax and Adjusted earnings per share have been represented to exclude joint venture performance fee income as detailed further in Note 2. The H1 2022 figures have been changed accordingly. The FY 2022 and H1 2023 reported results are not impacted by this change. Further discussion of the sensitivity around the quantum of the performance fee is given in Note 6.

^2. A reconciliation between Adjusted profit before tax and IFRS profit before tax is shown in Note 2 to the condensed financial information.

^3. A reconciliation between Adjusted earnings per share and IFRS earnings per share is shown in Note 11 to the condensed financial information.

^4. Total Accounting Return is calculated based on the opening and closing adjusted NAV per share adding back dividends paid during the period.

^5. Percentage valuation movement during the period based on the difference between opening and closing valuations for all properties including buildings under construction and land, adjusting for capital expenditure, acquisitions and disposals.

^6. A reconciliation between Adjusted net asset value per share and IFRS net asset value per share is shown in Note 11 to the condensed financial information.

^7. Adjusted net asset value is in line with EPRA Net Tangible Assets (NTA) (see Table 5 in the Supplementary Notes for a NAV reconciliation).

^A Figures quoted on pages 1 to 14 refer to SEGRO’s share, except for land (hectares) and space (square metres) which are quoted at 100 per cent, unless otherwise stated. Please refer to the Presentation of Financial Information statement in the Financial Review for further details.

SEGRO has one of the best and most modern pan-European industrial warehouse portfolios, through which we can serve our customers’ entire regional and local distribution needs. Our strategic focus is to ensure that our properties are of the highest quality and in the most supply constrained locations, and thus able to generate superior long-term rental growth. We are also able to respond tactically to shorter-term changes in market conditions, including adapting our approach to capital allocation based on the insights provided by our market-leading operating platform.

Occupier demand for industrial and logistics space is proving resilient due to the long-term, structural drivers at play in our sector. At the same time, modern sustainable space is in short supply across our chosen sub-markets in Europe and a lack of available land limits the potential supply response. We expect that this supply-demand tension will drive further rental growth across our portfolio, normalising over time towards our long-held expectations of two to six per cent per annum. Net rental income growth will also be supported by the £147 million of embedded reversionary potential within our portfolio, equivalent to around a quarter of our current rent roll. Most of this reversion is in the UK and will be captured by the five-yearly open market rent review process, and we have index-linked uplifts on over half of our leases (mostly in Continental Europe) that will also help to capture this reversion and provide further rental growth.

Our high-quality land bank, with the potential to add £370 million of rental income, provides us with the ability to respond quickly to changing occupier demand through our development programme. Coupled with this, our strong balance sheet provides significant financial flexibility to continue to invest capital profitably in those development opportunities which offer the most attractive risk-adjusted returns.

Valuations have been much more stable in the first half of 2023 and investment has activity picked up across the market, including our own disposal of a UK big box portfolio since the period end (which was sold ahead of June 2023 book value). This demonstrates that investors are seeing value at current levels of pricing, and we believe that demand will further increase as clarity emerges around future interest rates, with investors attracted by the positive fundamentals and long-term structural growth potential in logistics and industrial warehousing.

Our prime portfolio and market-leading operating platform combine to create a strong competitive advantage, and position us well to create value through the cycle for all of our stakeholders. We therefore remain confident in our ability to deliver attractive returns and continued growth in earnings and dividends into the future.

View the full press release in PDF format.

Full details of our holdings can be found in the SEGRO Property Analysis Report.

Watch a video interview with David Sleath, Chief Executive.

A live webcast of the results presentation will be available from 08:30am (UK time) at:

https://www.investis-live.com/segro/6491814000e68612004ca42e/hsgr

The webcast will be available for replay at SEGRO’s website at: http://www.segro.com/investors shortly after the live presentation.

ABOUT SEGRO

SEGRO is a UK Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), listed on the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris, and is a leading owner, manager and developer of modern warehouses and industrial property. It owns or manages 10.3 million square metres of space (110 million square feet) valued at £21.0 billion serving customers from a wide range of industry sectors. Its properties are located in and around major cities and at key transportation hubs in the UK and in seven other European countries.

For over 100 years SEGRO has been creating the space that enables extraordinary things to happen. From modern big box warehouses, used primarily for regional, national and international distribution hubs, to urban warehousing located close to major population centres and business districts, it provides high-quality assets that allow its customers to thrive.

A commitment to be a force for societal and environmental good is integral to SEGRO’s purpose and strategy. Its Responsible SEGRO framework focuses on three long-term priorities where the company believes it can make the greatest impact: Championing Low-Carbon Growth, Investing in Local Communities and Environments and Nurturing Talent.

Striving for the highest standards of innovation, sustainable business practices and enabling economic and societal prosperity underpins SEGRO’s ambition to be the best property company.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to SEGRO’s expectations and plans, strategy, management objectives, future developments and performance, costs, revenues and other trend information. All statements other than historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations and all forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions, risk and uncertainty. Many of these assumptions, risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond SEGRO’s ability to control or estimate precisely and which could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Certain statements have been made with reference to forecast process changes, economic conditions and the current regulatory environment. Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of SEGRO are based upon the knowledge and information available to Directors on the date of this announcement. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Additionally, forward-looking statements regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. The information contained in this announcement is provided as at the date of this announcement and is subject to change without notice. Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations (including under the UK Listing Rules and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority), SEGRO does not undertake to update forward-looking statements, including to reflect any new information or changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Past share performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit estimate or profit forecast. The information in this announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or an invitation to buy securities in SEGRO plc or an invitation or inducement to engage in or enter into any contract or commitment or other investment activities.

Neither the content of SEGRO’s website nor any other website accessible by hyperlinks from SEGRO’s website are incorporated in, or form part of, this announcement.

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