Palace CFO quits as asset sale continues
Palace Capital CFO Matthew Simpson has stepped down as the REIT continues to sell off its remaining assets.
A stock market announcement this morning said: “The company’s financial circumstances (including cancellation of bank facilities and reduced portfolio size) mean that the CFO role is significantly reduced and therefore no longer requires the level of expertise and skillset that Matthew contributes.”
Simpson held the role for two years and has been with the REIT for eight. In that time it has shifted from being a sizeable regional developer to briefly focusing on brown-to-green improvements, before a shareholder revolt forced it to sell its assets to return cash.
Palace Capital CFO Matthew Simpson has stepped down as the REIT continues to sell off its remaining assets.
A stock market announcement this morning said: “The company’s financial circumstances (including cancellation of bank facilities and reduced portfolio size) mean that the CFO role is significantly reduced and therefore no longer requires the level of expertise and skillset that Matthew contributes.”
Simpson held the role for two years and has been with the REIT for eight. In that time it has shifted from being a sizeable regional developer to briefly focusing on brown-to-green improvements, before a shareholder revolt forced it to sell its assets to return cash.
Simpson said: “The timing is now right for me to explore new opportunities and pursue a fresh challenge. I leave Palace Capital in a robust financial position, having deleveraged the balance sheet with debt and LTV significantly reduced and the company is well placed to deliver on its strategy of maximising cash returns to shareholders.”
Profit for the REIT for the six months to the end of September fell by a third to £2.3m. Adjusted earnings per share were down 30% to 5.5p.
This reflected the reduction in rental income caused by disposals.
It made a total profit on property disposals over the period of £3.5m and completed £15.3m in share buybacks.
Its investment property portfolio valuation reduced by 4.4% on a like-for-like basis, with £110m net assets.
Palace has found it hard to sell assets at the right price over the past six months, but managed to dispose of 12 investment properties for £66.9m, 7% ahead of the March book value.
Executive chair Steven Owen said this would now pick up.
“Since July 2022, we have returned £21.9m of capital to shareholders through share buybacks,” he said. “It is expected that further progress regarding disposals and options for returning capital, including a potential tender offer, will be announced in a trading update during the first quarter of 2024.”
Post period end, a further three investment properties have been sold for £6.4m, bringing the total sales in the year to date to £73.3m, 6% ahead of the March book value.
It now has around £120m of assets left to sell.
The REIT also reduced its gross debt by £44.1m, or 68.6%, over the period to £20.2m, knocking it down a further £6.2m following the period end to £14m.
To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews
