CLS H1 losses narrow, makes first letting at Artesian

Commercial property investment firm CLS Holdings reported mixed H1 numbers on Wednesday as it also revealed it had struck a deal for its first letting at its Artesian asset in East London.

CLS said net rental income had risen 5.9% to £58.9m and post-tax losses had narrowed from £104.1m to £61.1m. However, EPRA net tangible assets per share fell 10.1% to £227.4m.

The FTSE 250-listed group also completed three disposals in H1 and noted that there would be further sales in H2, as well as ongoing refinancing efforts aimed at reducing its net debt and loan-to-value ratio.

Chief executive Fredrik Widlund said: "In the first half of 2024, CLS made strong progress on its strategic priorities and delivered good underlying performance across the portfolio. Net rental income was up over 5% with new leases signed nearly 6% above ERV such that this positive leasing momentum resulted in a slight fall in underlying vacancy. Valuations were lower but the rate of decline slowed and we are seeing values start to bottom as the challenging conditions begin to ease."

Separately, CLS said it had leased 12,052 square feet of office space on the fifth floor of its Artesian asset, on 9 Prescott Street, London, to Médecins Sans Frontières for ten years, starting in December. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As of 0845 BST, CLS shares were up 1.98% at 91.58p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com