Derwent London trades well in first quarter

Derwent London posted a first quarter trading update on Thursday, reporting that in 2017 to date it had let or pre-let 260,100 square feet, achieving rents of £17.0m per annum.

The FTSE 250 company said that was a 48% increase from the £11.5m announced with the 2016 results on 28 February, and 0.9% above December 2016 ERV.

It said lettings since the end of February were 4.6% above ERV.

The firm’s board said its White Collar Factory project was now complete, and was 72% let with the majority of the remaining space under offer.

Three developments totalling 727,000 square feet remained under construction, with 30% pre-let.

Derwent said property disposals agreed in the year-to-date totalled £327m, which was 6.7% above December 2016 values.

Its loan-to-value ratio was 16.5% at 31 March, with cash and undrawn facilities of £359m.

“Following the excellent start to the year that we announced with our results in February, demand for our product remains strong and our letting progress continues,” said chief executive officer John Burns.

“In addition, our sales activity demonstrates resilient investment demand.”