Liberum ups Hammerson to 'hold'

Analysts at Liberum upped real estate firm Hammerson from 'sell' to 'hold', stating that facts surrounding the group had changed.

Liberum said the rights issue around Hammerson were "fully underwritten", meaning that the firm would get its cash, removing the risk of a near-term covenant breach, exactly the thing that triggered its 'sell' rating initially.

On a post-money basis, the analysts said they were now looking for 83.0p of European Public Real Estate Association net tangible assets by December 2020, which prices in a further 9% in total portfolio values in the second half.

Liberum, which also raised its target on the group from 30.0p to 50.0p, highlighted that this also accounted for the share consolidation, share issuance, the sale of VIA Outlets and the property income distributions payment due in December.

"An FY20E LTV of 48% still isn’t conservative, and we expect property values continue falling, but we think a 70% discount to NAV adequately prices the risks ahead," said Liberum, which also noted it still saw short-term upside risk from a potential short squeeze.