Segro makes 'good start' to FY25

(Sharecast News) - Property investment and development firm Segro said on Wednesday that it had made a "good start" to FY25 in the three months ended 31 March, with the group growing its rent roll, expanding its active development pipeline and progressing its data centre strategy. Segro said £13.0m of new headline rent had been signed in Q1, the majority of which came from its existing portfolio, with a 37% uplift from UK rent reviews and renewals.

Customer retention was also said to have been "very high" at 92%, while occupancy was stable at 94%. Development completions during the period came to 50,000 square metres of new space, with £2.0m of headline rent, all of which has now been leased.

In addition to the "strong performance" from its existing portfolio, Segro noted that it had also seen growth in its active development pipeline, with ongoing pre-let negotiations across its key markets.

Segro highlighted that it remains "well-placed to deliver growth", both from its existing portfolio and an "exceptional development land bank", and retains "significant firepower" to fund further attractive growth opportunities, with an LTV of 29% and £2.2bn of cash and undrawn committed facilities.

Chief executive David Sleath said: "Long-term structural trends continue to support demand for modern, well-located warehouses and data centres, meanwhile the supply of new space in our chosen sub-markets remains constrained due to lack of available land, power and restrictive planning policies.

"Our portfolio is heavily weighted to supporting domestic consumption, particularly the two-thirds located in Europe's largest cities, and we therefore believe the direct impact of tariff policies on our portfolio will be limited. While it is too early to assess the effect they may have on broader economic activity, we remain on track for another year of strong growth in contracted rents and are confident in Segro's ability to deliver attractive compound earnings and dividend growth, with significant additional value creation upside from our data centre pipeline."

As of 0845 BST, Segro shares were down 2.17% at 675.40p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com