More landlords reveal they are still waiting for Q1 rent

The list of landlords waiting on rent collections continues to grow as Covid-19 continues to cause severe business disruption across the country. AEW UK REIT AEW UK REIT has received 64% of its rent for the three months to 31 March, according to the REIT’s latest financial update. The company, which owns 35 regional assets, said this figure was expected to increase to 75% once payments had been received from tenants making monthly payments. NAV stood at 93.13p as of 31 March 2020, down from 97.24p at 31 December 2019, and the REIT’s property portfolio value decreased by 3% to £6.5m over the quarter on the basis of “material valuation uncertainty”, in line with guidance from the RICS. An interim dividend of 2p per share for the period 1 January to 31 March was announced by the company, but it said “the outlook remains unclear” during the current Covid-19 pandemic as to whether it will continue to pay future dividends. BMO Real Estate Investments BMO Real Estate Investments has collected 69% of the £3.3m rent due during this quarter. In addition, due to the impact that Covid-19 will have on future rental receipts, the company cast doubt on whether it will be able to pay out future quarterly dividends, although it announced this quarter’s dividend payment of 1.25p per share. BMO REI said it expected to see “significant disruption to revenues over the near term, including next quarter’s rent collection, even when the timetable for relaxation of lockdown measures becomes clearer”. NAV per share slipped to 99.7p compared to 102.6p the previous quarter.   To send feedback, e-mail lucy.alderson@egi.co.uk or tweet @LucyAJourno or @estatesgazette