Hammerson returns to statutory profit amid solid rental growth

(Sharecast News) - Hammerson returned to statutory profit in 2025 and reported double-digit growth in rental income and net tangible assets on Wednesday, as the retail-focused landlord said it was well positioned for further expansion in 2026 and beyond. The FTSE 250 owner and manager of prime retail-led city destinations in the UK, France and Ireland reported total net rental income of £180m for the year ended 31 December, up 23% year-on-year, while the portfolio value rose 33% to £3.5bn.

On a like-for-like basis, net rental income increased 3%, supported by record leasing activity and active asset management.

EPRA earnings rose 5% to £104m, with EPRA earnings per share up 4% to 20.7p.

The company said its EPRA net tangible assets per share increased 6% to £3.94, reflecting positive income and capital returns.

It recorded an IFRS profit of £232m compared with a £526m loss in 2024, driven by EPRA earnings and a net revaluation gain of £120m.

Total accounting return was 11%, while total property return reached 10%.

"I'm excited to be leading Hammerson as we embark on our next phase of growth," said Rob Wilkinson, chief executive.

"These strong results are testament to the quality of our unique portfolio, our integrated pure-play platform, and the hard work of our teams."

He added that the "success of best-in-class retail-led city destinations is evident in our record leasing at positive spreads, very high occupancy, and growing footfall and sales, leading to rental growth."]

During the year Hammerson invested £757m into Westquay, Brent Cross, Bullring and Grand Central and The Oracle at an average yield of 7.6%, contributing to a 33% increase in portfolio value.

The group raised equity equivalent to 10% of issued share capital to part-fund the acquisition of Bullring and Grand Central, issued a heavily oversubscribed €350m 3.5% bond and signed a new £100m unsecured term loan maturing in 2028, while repaying a £338m 3.5% bond on maturity.

Loan-to-value stood at 39% and annualised net debt to EBITDA at 8.1 times.

Fitch upgraded its senior unsecured rating to A- and Moody's revised its Baa2 outlook to positive.

Leasing reached a record £51m, up 18% like-for-like, with spreads 46% ahead of previous passing rents and 11% ahead of estimated rental value on a net effective basis.

Occupancy increased one percentage point to 96%, with six of 10 flagship destinations at least 98% let.

The group contracted £262m of rent to first break and reported a leasing pipeline of around £20m.

Footfall across flagship destinations rose 2%, outperforming national retail benchmarks, with UK footfall up 2% against a benchmark decline of 3%, France up 4% against a 1% benchmark rise, and Ireland up 0.4% versus a 1% benchmark fall.

Total visitors reached 170 million, up three million on a like-for-like basis.

Sales densities increased 2% overall following repositioning activity at assets including The Oracle and Cabot Circus.

The board proposed a final dividend of 8.56p per share, up 6%, taking the full-year dividend to 16.5p, also 6% higher.

It said the final dividend would be paid as a Property Income Distribution, subject to shareholder approval at the 2026 annual general meeting, with payment scheduled for 8 May.

Shares would trade ex-dividend on 26 March on the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Dublin, and on 25 March on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Looking ahead, Hammerson said it expected total net rental income growth of around 20% in 2026, including like-for-like growth of 4% to 5%, alongside EPRA earnings growth of about 15% and EPRA earnings per share growth of roughly 10%.

"We have a clear line of sight to growth in rental income, earnings and dividend in 2026 and beyond, with multiple paths for growth, further increasing our scale and value creation," Wilkinson said.

At 0909 GMT, shares in Hammerson were up 4.41% at 364.4p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.