REG - First Property Group - Trading Update

First PropertyAnnouncement

08/11/2023 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20231108:nRSH6988Sa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 6988S  First Property Group PLC  08 November 2023

 Date:          8 November 2023
 On behalf of:  First Property Group plc ("First Property", the "Company" or the "Group")
 Embargoed:     07:00 hours

 

First Property Group plc

Trading update

First Property Group plc (AIM: FPO), the property fund manager and investor,
is pleased to report underlying trading profits for the financial year to 31
March 2024 remain in line with market forecasts.

Nearly one third of the vacant office space in Warsaw and Gdynia, which the
Group acquired in 2021 and 2022, and which totalled some 20,000 square metres,
has been leased. Tenant demand remains steady in both cities. The rapid
increase in interest rates from near zero in 2021 has naturally impacted
property values. The Group has been shielded from much of this by its
accounting policy of holding properties at the lower of cost or value.

The cost of the Group's share in Fprop Opportunities plc ("FOP"), a fund
invested in five commercial properties in Poland, was rebased in October 2018
when the Group's share in it fell below 50%, resulting in it being
deconsolidated from the Group's accounts and accounted for as an associate at
the then prevailing property values.  In the six months to 30 September 2023
the five properties owned by FOP decreased in value by £2.2 million, of which
the Group's share amounted to £816,000. As a result, the Group expects to
report an overall loss in the first six months of the current financial year.

At their current aggregate value of £61.5 million, the properties held by FOP
yield income of some 8.5% per annum. The properties are 97% leased by net
lettable area. The vast majority of rent payable is subject to annual
increases linked to inflation and, as rents increase, the Board expects this
value reduction at least partially to reverse.

The Group plans to announce its financial results for the six months to 30
September 2023 on Thursday, 23 November. A meeting for analysts and investors
will be held at 11 a.m. on the same day via the Investor Meet
Company (IMC) platform. Those wishing to attend should add to meet First
Property Group
Plc via https://www.investormeetcompany.com/first-property-group-plc/register-investor
(https://www.investormeetcompany.com/first-property-group-plc/register-investor)
. Once registered, automatic invitations to this presentation and to future
online meetings held on the platform will be sent. Questions can be submitted
prior to the event via the IMC platform or to investor.relations@fprop.com
(mailto:investor.relations@fprop.com) . In addition, questions can be
submitted at any time during the live presentation via the "Ask a Question"
function. The accompanying investor presentation will simultaneously be
available online at http://www.fprop.com/media-news/presentations/
(http://www.fprop.com/media-news/presentations/) .

 

ENDS

 

For further information please contact:

 

 First Property Group plc                                      Tel: +44 (20) 7340 0270
 Ben Habib (Chief Executive Officer)                           investor.relations@fprop.com (mailto:investor.relations@fprop.com)

 Laura James (Group Finance Director)

 Jeremy Barkes (Director, Business Development)

 Jill Aubrey (Director, Compliance & Company Secretary)

 Allenby Capital (NOMAD & Broker)                              Tel: + 44 (20) 3328 5656
 Nick Naylor / Daniel Dearden-Williams (Corporate Finance)

 Amrit Nahal / Tony Quirke (Sales and Corporate Broking)

 

Notes to Investors and Editors:

 

First Property Group plc is an award-winning property fund manager and
investor with operations in the United Kingdom and Central Europe. Its focus
is on higher yielding commercial property with sustainable cash flows. The
Company is flexible and takes an active approach to asset management. Its
earnings are derived from:

 

·      Fund management - via its FCA regulated and AIFMD approved
subsidiary, First Property Asset Management Ltd ("FPAM"), which earns fees
from investing for third parties in property. FPAM currently manages twelve
funds which are invested across the United Kingdom, Poland and Romania.

·      Group properties - principal investments by the Group to earn a
return on its own capital, usually in partnership with third parties.
Investments comprise six directly held properties in Poland, one in Romania,
and non-controlling interests in nine of the twelve funds managed by FPAM.

 

Quoted on AIM, the Company has offices in London and Warsaw. Around one third
of the Company's shares are owned by management, directors, and their
families. Further information about the Company and its properties can be
found at: www.fprop.com (http://www.fprop.com) . To receive RNS alerts by
email please subscribe here
(https://sirius.brighterir.com/public/fprop/news_alerts/email_alerts/register)
.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTFLFFDLELDIIV