Retail property firm Hammerson closes losses as it heads towards recovery
Retail property firm Hammerson posted smaller losses and reported a 122 per cent rise in earnings today, as it recovers from a collapse in retail rent during the pandemic
Adjusted earnings for the group hit £81m in 2021, up from £37m in 2020, as it felt the lift of raised rental income and a recovery in value retail.
Losses for the Brent Cross Shopping Centre owner tightened to £429m, down from £1.73bn in 2020, which the firm said was largely due to a portfolio revaluation.
Hammerson said they were now beginning to see the lift of a footfall recovery across and a rising demand for prime retail space, but chief executive Rita-Rose Gagné said there was still more work to be done.”
Since the beginning of 2021, we have made fundamental changes in our business, realigning our portfolio with £623m of disposals, significantly strengthening the balance sheet, re-setting our organisation and putting in place a clear strategy for value creation focused on our prime urban estates,” she said.
“The pandemic has accelerated trends in our operating environment, with people engaging with physical space in new ways. Our role is to create and curate relevant, appealing and sustainable spaces for the future.”
She said the firm was already seeing results from its strategy with strong occupier leasing demand and reduced vacancies, as well as a lower cost base.
Analysts at Goodbody said that Hammersons results showed stabilising values after five years of decline.
“This is an important set of results which shows progress in the turnaround efforts of new management for the business,” Colm Lauder, analyst at Goodbody, said.
“Values are stabilising and rental incomes are ahead of estimates.”