On 22 June, we were delighted to welcome back management from Palace Capital on Hardman Talks. Neil Sinclair and Stephen Silvester joined Hardman & Co’s property analyst Mike Foster in a live event following strong full year results.
Of particular note was an excellent performance on rent collection over the course of the pandemic – 95% over the full year. Neil noted the near-term trends are positive. Businesses relocating to the regions continues apace. There is a much higher proportion of workers returning to the office in the north of England where PCA’s office investment is located, roughly double that of the south of England. Even in the most difficult sector, retail, PCA has let vacant space. A 25% dividend hike in Q4 emphasises the confidence PCA has in its future prospects.
The company’s major focus for 2021 is reducing the discount to NAV and it aims to do this on three fronts. Selling the remaining residential properties at Hudson Quarter should realise around £38m, which will be reinvested in a very attractive pipeline of opportunities. Letting the remaining office space at Hudson should add £1m annually. Finally, the company will continue its £30m non-core disposal programme. ESG is a key focus moving forward and PCA is confident it is well positioned in this regard, with investment in energy efficiency and properties located at the centre of public transport infrastructure.
You can download the slides used here and read our latest research on the company here.
