NewRiver 'positioned well' for growth with Hawthorn acquisition

NewRiver's NAV grew to £890.9m from the £693.1m it turned in a year earlier, however, the trust's NAV per share moved ahead just 1% to 293p.

Retail occupancy was flat year-on-year at 97%, but NewRiver's average retail rent of £12.36 was 0.72% lower than it's 2017 figure.

Like-for-like footfall across shopping centres fell 0.9%, while like-for-like net income across NewRiver's retail portfolio moved ahead 0.9%, reflecting the impact of the group's active asset management initiatives.

Throughout the year, NewRiver successfully raised £1bn of financing, much of which was used to fund its acquisitions of Bravo JV and two further retail parks.

Allan Lockhart, NewRiver's chief executive, said, "This has been another year of growth for NewRiver, in which the foundations we have put in place through our actions in the equity and debt capital markets, our balance sheet capacity and continued focus on the most sustainable segments of the UK retail market, characterised by frequent spend on everyday essentials, have positioned us well for growth."

In a separate Thursday morning announcement, NewRiver revealed that it will acquire Hawthorn Leisure Holdings, an established brand and pub management platform with a portfolio of 298 high-quality community boozers, from an affiliate of Avenue Capital for £106.8m, representing an initial net yield of 13.6%. NewRiver stated the consideration would be satisfied using its existing resources.

"The acquisition of Hawthorn Leisure is absolutely aligned with our strategy of investing in retail & leisure assets at the heart of the communities across the UK. The portfolio is highly complementary to our existing pub portfolio and the combined portfolio remains below 20% of our total assets," Lockhart added.

As of 0910 BST, NewRiver shares had dropped 1.73% to 283.50p.