Grainger resilient against pandemic side effects as pre-tax profits soar
The UK’s largest listed residential landlord Grainger has reported a higher pre-tax profit after revenue was driven by roaring housing demand.
In results for the year ended 30 September, the property firm declared profit before tax up 53 per cent.
What’s more, adjusted earnings rose two per cent while like-for-like rental growth saw a one per cent boost.
Passing net rent rose 15 per cent to £81m on 2021 financial year reported net rental income (NRI).
Strong rental income growth had “more than offset” a slight reduction in private rented occupancy because of the pandemic, according to Helen Gordon, chief executive of Grainger.
“We have delivered a robust performance for the year, and with our strong strategic momentum we are entering our next phase of dynamic growth,” she added.
The firm was proposing a final dividend of 3.32p per share.
Grainger said it had delivered more than 1,300 new operational private rented sector (PRS) homes and four new acquisitions totalling £299m of investment.
Gordon added: “The UK private rented sector, particularly build-to-rent, remains a highly attractive sector to invest in. It proved resilient during the pandemic. Our strategy of investing in high quality, mid-market private rental homes in target cities across the UK, identified by our in-house research and aligned to sound responsible business and ESG values, remains the right strategy for Grainger.
Shares in the landlord were up by a small margin in early trading on Thursday morning.