Grainger hails 'record' delivery, lifts dividend

Residential landlord Grainger posted a jump in annual rental income on Wednesday, boosted by strong demand for its properties.

Like-for-like rental growth in the year to 30 September was 7.7%, while net rental income rose 12% to £96.5m. Adjusted earnings improved 4% to £97.6m.

In total, Grainger built 1,201 new homes during the year, bringing its operational portfolio to 10,208 private rental homes.

The FTSE 250 firm, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, said the performance had been driven by the strength of its platform and demand for its mid-market offering.

Helen Gordon, chief executive, called it an "outstanding year of record delivery".

She continued: "In the next three years, post-tax EPRA earnings will double compared to last year, as we deliver our fully-funded committed pipeline.

"Despite the macroeconomic turbulence which marked the beginning of our financial year, the Grainger business has performed exceptionally well.

"Our property valuations held up well, underpinned by strong rental growth."

Looking to the current year, Grainger - which announced a final divided of 6.65p a share, an 11% increase - remained upbeat, noting that it was in a "good position"” to deliver on strategic growth plans.

"Our disciplined investment approach means we have the funding in place to deliver our sizeable pipeline of committed projects," Gordon said.

Grainger also announced on Wednesday that it had struck a deal with blockwork, a joint venture between Network Rail and developer Bloc Group.

Gordon said the partnership supported Grainger’s "ambitious" growth plans as well as providing access to well-located city sites, with the potential to deliver over 2,000 new purpose built rental homes.