- Grainger said it continues to see “record levels of rental growth”
Residential property group Grainger has enjoyed record levels of trading amid “exceptionally high” rental demand, which it says shows no signs of slowing down.
The group told investors on Wednesday it had seen “strong rental growth” in the four months to January 31, and Grainger was preparing thousands of new buy-to-let builds.
The London-listed group said it expects rental growth to remain “above historical averages” for the remainder of its financial year.
Grainger Stock rose 2.38 per cent or 6.2 pence to 267.20 pence on Wednesday, having risen almost 4 per cent in the last year.
Growth mode: Grainger owns and manages over 9,000 rental homes across the UK
The group experienced total like-for-like rental growth of 8.3 per cent year-to-date in its trading year, up from 6.1 per cent at the same time 12 months earlier.
Private rented sector (PRS) growth rose 8.4 per cent and regulated tenancy rent growth rose 7.6 per cent, the group said.
Occupancy in the group’s PRS portfolio remained high at 97.2 percent, but was slightly lower than the 98.7 percent level seen at the same time in January 2023.
Grainger said it continued to see “strong pricing”, achieving average sales prices 2.6 per cent above valuations, adding it had benefited from “good levels of liquidity” in the residential sales market.
The group, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, currently has a £3.3bn operational portfolio of around 10,200 homes and a £1.6bn portfolio of a further 5,634 build-to-rent homes.
Helen Gordon, chief executive of Grainger, said: “Since our year-end results in November, we have completed 307 homes at The Copper Works in Cardiff and are continuing the phased delivery of homes at Weavers Yard in Newbury, with lettings in line with our underwriting assumptions
“Over the next month we will see the launch of two new build-to-rent schemes in Birmingham and Bristol for a total of 606 homes.”
Looking ahead, Grainger said the “strong and compelling fundamentals” of the UK residential rental market continue to underpin its investment case, and that rental demand, and rental supply in particular, remains “exceptionally high”.
He added: “We continue to achieve record levels of rental growth and, if wage growth improves later this year, we expect rental growth to continue to be above historical averages, driven by our world-leading operating platform. market”.
“With local and national elections taking place later this year, we are comfortable that the political and regulatory risk to our business is low and that our responsible approach to delivering high-quality rental housing to the market medium is very aligned with the main political parties. priorities.’
Grainger owns and manages over 9,000 rental homes across the UK, operating primarily in cities.
The group will announce its half-year results for the semester ended March 31 on May 16.