PRS: Strong growth at build-to-rent specialist
PRS, the build-to-rent real estate investment trust with a focus on newly built homes, has reported solid growth across its portfolio over the last quarter
In a quarterly update on the London Stock Exchange, PRS REIT said rental growth was 11.7 per cent in the three months to 30 June.
In addition, affordability remained at a “healthy level” of 23 per cent, well within the government’s guidance limit of 35 per cent.
PRS’s 5,396 completed build-to-rent homes across the fourth quarter had an estimated rental value (ERV) of £65.1m, as of 30 June.
The company’s portfolio of single-family houses remains the largest of its kind in the UK, with a further 88 new rental homes added over the period.
A further 180 homes, with an ERV of £1.4m per annum, were contracted at 30 June 2024, and are at “varying stages” of the construction process,” PRS Reit said in a statement to markets.
Looking ahead, the London-listed firm believes it is in a “very strong market position, due in part to the “significant mismatch between rental demand and market supply.” It also signed new terms with its investment adviser and development manager to deliver cost savings of £0.46m per annum.
Investors enjoyed an interim dividend of 1p per share in the third quarter of the financial year, and the board anticipates declaring its next payout by early August.
In its interim results in March, PRS reported an 11 per cent rise in adjusted earnings, to £18.7m, alongside a 106 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £30.3m.