Business
Debt Restructure
Debt Restructure.
About this update from Abrdn Property Income Trust Limited
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n abrdn Property Income Trust Limited\n (an authorised closed-ended investment company incorporated in Guernsey with registration number 41352)\n \n LEI Number: 549300HHFBWZRKC7RW84\n 13 December 2022\n ASSET MANAGEMENT UPDATE, DEBT RESTRUCTURE, MANAGEMENT FEE AND DIVIDEND GUIDANCE\n abrdn Property Income Trust (“API” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce several initiatives that materially enhance the Company’s earnings for 2023 and beyond. These initiatives, which include asset management progress, debt restructuring and a management fee reduction, give the Board confidence to announce dividend guidance of 4.0p per share per annum for 2023 and 2024*, in line with the current dividend level.\n \n Asset Management\n \n At Explorer 1 & 2, the Company’s multi-let office investment in Crawley, two new lettings are under offer, potentially securing an annual rent of £299,000 p.a. These lettings will mean that over 95% of the available office space at the building has been let, with a total of four lettings having been completed in the last two years. This demonstrates the appeal of high-quality refurbished office space in good locations.\n At 54 Hagley Road, Birmingham, terms have been agreed on a new lease, with the expectation of signing a binding contract by year end, on 21,500 sqft of vacant office accommodation to secure a further £408,000 p.a. This, combined with other contracted lettings, is expected to bring the vacancy rate of the portfolio down on a like-for-like basis from 9.3% as at end September 2022 to under 5%.\n The Company has also exchanged on the sale of a small multi-let office in Bristol for £4.3m. The asset produces a rent of £322,500 p.a. subject to a lease expiry and a break in less than two years, at which point substantial capex would be required. The sale yield of 6.95% is attractive in the current market.\n \n Refinancing of Debt\n \n On 12 October 2022, the Company announced that it had completed an extension of its debt facilities that were due to expire in April 2023. The newly agreed term loan of £85m for three years from April 2023 was subject to a margin of 150bps over SONIA and an interest rate swap. At the time, there was heightened volatility and swap rates were high, exacerbated by political uncertainty, and the all-in cost of the term loan amounted to 6.97%.\n In light of the change ...