Kennedy Wilson reports strong first quarter

Real estate and loans investor Kennedy Wilson Europe reported a strong total portfolio value at the end of its first quarter on Thursday, at £2.773bn across 287 properties.

The FTSE 250 firm said that figure includes two loan portfolios generating an annualised net operating income of £152.9m.

Kennedy’s property portfolio occupancy was 95.8%, with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 7.3 years.

The group’s net debt stood at £1.075bn with a weighted average interest rate of 2.8%, a weighted average term to maturity of 6.2 years and a loan to value ratio of 38.8%.

During the period, Kennedy Wilson made acquisitions of £19.1m during the period, with a further £143.5m completed post period end.

The company’s board said it remains on track to deliver £300m of disposals by June 2016, with sales of £143.9m completed in the period taking total disposals to £268.5m.

"Kennedy Wilson Europe remains on track to deliver the significant dividend improvement announced at its full year results,” said chair Charlotte Valeur.

“The board is pleased to announce a further 12.0 pence per share to be paid in Q2-16, moving towards the 48.0 pence per share annualised target for 2016, a 37% increase over 2015 and reflecting an attractive prospective dividend yield of 4.5%

“ An important milestone was also achieved with credit investors, as KWE recently tapped its 2025 unsecured euro bonds by a further €150 million, improving the liquidity of the bonds by increasing the series to a benchmark size,” Valeur explained.

President and CEO of Kennedy Wilson, Mary Ricks, said 2016 was shaping up to be a year of significant asset management for the group.

“With a strong level of rent review activity, we have a good opportunity to deliver material organic NOI growth by narrowing the gap between reversionary in place rents and ERVs,” she said.

"Our portfolio remains in a robust position with good occupational demand across our core sectors and geographies.

“We also have an ample level of liquidity for acquisitions should we wish to capitalise on any potential market dislocations,” Ricks explained.

Kennedy Wilson retained its quarterly interim dividend at 12p per share, on track to deliver an annual 48p per share for 2016.

Kennedy Wilson confirms two major property purchases

In two separate announcements on Thursday, Kennedy Wilson confirmed the purchase of two major properties in Dublin, Ireland and Manchester, England.

The Dublin acquisition involved two suburban office assets in Sandyford and Blackrock in the south of the city for an aggregate consideration of €76.9m (£60.8m), and the Manchester purchase was for the Towers Business Park in South Manchester for consideration of £82m.

Both acquisitions were being funded from Kennedy Wilson’s existing cash.