Grainger has toasted a strong performance in 2024, despite rental growth dipping.
The group, which will report its full-year trading figures on 21 November, said that in the 12 months to the end of September it had seen strong like-for-like rental growth of 6.3%, this was down from 7.7% growth in 2023, however. Rental growth in new lets was hit hardest, slowing from 9.2% in 2023 to 5.6% this year.
Despite the slowdown in growth, chief executive Helen Gordon remained confident. “While we expect rental growth to ameliorate somewhat, we still expect levels to be above the long-term historic average for FY25,” she said.
Gordon said the growth in rents had been supported by the firm’s “rapidly growing” portfolio.
The group added 1,113 homes to its 12,000-strong portfolio of rented properties and has a pipeline, said Gordon, that will double its rental income when compared with 2023’s figures.
“Rental growth in FY25 will be underpinned by continuing high levels of wage growth throughout the UK and particularly in our target customer demographics and geographical locations,” said Gordon. “Affordability remains healthy and customer satisfaction scores remain high, demonstrating the sustainability of our rental income growth going forward.”
She added: “The UK rental market continues to experience rapidly accelerating growth in demand, while supply remains constrained. Our portfolio is fully let with occupancy at 97.4% at the end of September.”
Gordon also welcomed the government’s confirmation that it opposed any sort of rent control and said the proposals to reform the planning system to support housing supply and raise standards in the rental market were also welcome.
“As we enter a new financial year, we are in a strong position to deliver further growth, benefiting from our market-leading, scalable operating platform,” she said.
November’s results will be Grainger’s last before it converts to a REIT.
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