TIDMBRU2
RNS Number : 7770O
Bruntwood Bond 2 PLC
06 February 2023
6th February 2023
BRUNTWOOD GROUP LIMITED
BRUNTWOOD INVESTMENTS PLC
BRUNTWOOD BOND 2 PLC
UPDATE STATEMENT ON 2022 ANNUAL RESULTS
Bruntwood Group Limited ("Bruntwood") today updates the market
on the recent publication of the 2022 financial statements and a
summary of the latest rent collection position.
Across the group, net asset value rose by more than 10% to
GBP671.5m (2021: GBP606.5m) and the value of its combined
portfolio, including Bruntwood SciTech assets and other joint
ventures reached GBP2.0bn (2021: GBP1.8bn).
Chris Oglesby, CEO of Bruntwood, said
"We have aligned our products and proposition with the
businesses and organisations driving the future of the UK economy
in innovation-linked sectors like tech and digital, life sciences
and their supporting ecosystems, all of which continue to show huge
potential in many of our regional cities.
"As we now lean into the challenges presented by the end of
another economic cycle, this will remain our focus. We will
continue to focus our energies on investing in assets, whether
that's for Bruntwood SciTech or Works, in such a way that meets the
needs of modern business and industry, targeting growth into new
and existing cities around the UK."
Bruntwood made a number of significant investments and
acquisitions that contributed to this growth, while market
sentiment towards science and technology real estate assets
strengthened.
Within the Bruntwood SciTech portfolio, it unveiled a GBP76.2m
investment into the purchase and regeneration of Glasgow's famous
Met Tower, to create a new tech and digital campus and marking
Bruntwood and Bruntwood SciTech's first development in
Scotland.
Within the Bruntwood Works portfolio, it completed the GBP3m
refurbishment of Liverpool's The Plaza, gained approval for the net
zero redevelopment of Manchester's Grade II listed Pall Mall and
work started on the 90,000 sq ft Castle House in Leeds as part of
the wider West Village regeneration project.
Financial Position
The Group filed its annual accounts for the year ending
September 30th 2022. Key highlights include:
-- Reported pre-tax profit of GBP75.2m (2021: GBP44.9m) - the
second-best results in the group's 46-years of trading
-- Net asset value increases of 10.7% (GBP671.5m) and total
assets under management hits GBP2.0bn (2021: GBP1.8bn)
-- Further investment of GBP147m of capital, realised
revaluation gains of GBP153m and non-core disposals of GBP72m.
The full financial statements can be found at:
https://bruntwood.co.uk/our-performance/disclaimer/retail-bond-2025/
The Group's liquidity position has also improved. As of 31st
January 2023, the Group has GBP16m of cash reserves (10 January
2022: GBP9.2m), GBP40m of undrawn committed available facilities
(10 January 2022: GBP28m) and GBP70m (10 January 2022: GBP71m) of
unencumbered assets upon which further finance could be
secured.
The 2025 bond covenants have been tested as at September 2022
and are met with significant headroom. The covenant testing and
compliance certificate can be found on the Bruntwood website (link
as above).
At the same time, given the challenging economic outlook, the
Board has increased its stress testing and the consideration of
various scenarios including reviewing estimated customer default
rates, lower retention rates, higher concessions and valuation
yield movement. Based on the output of these models, the Board
considers there to be sufficient income and valuation headroom
across Bruntwood's debt facilities and does not expect Bruntwood to
breach any terms relating to them. We have modelled the forecast
covenant performance on each loan facility. Valuation covenant
headroom is in excess of 30% on all of our facilities.
Nevertheless, due to the rise in interest rates, the Group has
negotiated less onerous Interest Cover (ICR) covenants on its main
debt facility to help support the business for the future.
Impact on Operations
As of 27th January 2022, 93% of December quarter rents had been
collected. This is comparable to the September / June quarters at
the same point and ahead of the prior year comparative.
ENDS
For further information, please see Bruntwood's website at
https://bruntwood.co.uk/ or contact:
Kevin Crotty (Chief Financial Officer) +44 (0) 161 212 2222
Sean Davies (Director of Financing
& Investment) +44 (0) 161 212 2222
Patrick King, Mark Truman (WH Ireland +44 (0) 207 220 1666
Capital Markets)
Mark Glowrey (Allia C&C) +44 (0) 203 039 3465
Forward-Looking Statements: This announcement contains certain
forward-looking statements with respect to Bruntwood's expectations
and plans, strategy, management objectives, future developments and
performances, costs, revenues and other trend information. These
statements are subject to assumptions, risk and uncertainty. Many
of these assumptions, risks and uncertainties relate to factors
that are beyond Bruntwood'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 Bruntwood 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 Bruntwood's bondholders 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. 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), Bruntwood
does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect
any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any
such statement is based. Past bond performance cannot be relied on
as a guide to future performance. Nothing in this announcement
should be construed as a profit forecast. The information in this
announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or an invitation
to buy securities in Bruntwood or an invitation or inducement to
engage in any other investment activities.
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END
ACSSSDFDEEDSEIE
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