Capital & Regional, a UK convenience and community focused shopping centre REIT, has announced its half-year results to June 2023, showing continued strong operational performance. The company has also announced the acquisition of the Gyle Shopping Centre in Edinburgh for £40 million, to be part-funded by a £25 million Open Offer. Lawrence Hutchings, Chief Executive, stated that the company's community strategy has driven robust operational performance, with footfall recovery, rent collection, occupancy, and leasing metrics benefiting from ongoing investment and focus on operations. The acquisition of the Gyle Shopping Centre marks the first step towards rescaling the business and leveraging management expertise. The centre is expected to be accretive to income from day one and presents asset management opportunities.
Continuing operational resilience includes 42 new lettings and renewals achieved during the year, with occupancy increasing to 94.5% and footfall up 5.1% compared to H1 2022. Rent collection is in line with pre-Covid levels, and Snozone's EBITDA for the half-year doubled to £1.6 million. The company's capex programme is progressing, with £7.0 million invested during the period.
Improved profitability underpins dividend growth, with like-for-like Net Rental Income increasing 13% and Adjusted Profit increasing 19%. Property valuations have continued to stabilize, with the portfolio increasing 2.1% in the first half of 2023. Net Asset Value has increased by 2.3% to £183.2 million.