Custodian Property Income REIT – executive interview

In this interview, Richard Shepherd-Cross, fund manager of Custodian Property Income REIT, discusses current conditions and the outlook for the UK commercial property market and what this means for Custodian, as well as the organic and external growth opportunities for the company. Richard feels strongly that the underlying strength of the market is being overlooked by investors, and that the listed sector offers significant value. He particularly highlights attractive dividends, underpinned by continuing rental growth, in an environment where interest rates have moderated and property values have slowly begun to recover. Custodian pays fully covered dividends with a prospective yield of 7.6% and investors are in effect being paid to wait for potential NAV growth and any closing of the 17% discount to NAV. The other area that he focuses on is the opportunity to grow income and dividends over time. The market rental value of Custodian’s portfolio as estimated by the external valuers is 15% above the current passing rent, representing a significant potential uplift in earnings, and ERV itself continues to grow. Richard also discusses the outlook for further private sector acquisitions. In May, in an all-share transaction, immediately accretive to earnings, Custodian bought Merlin Properties, a privately owned family business, with a complementary portfolio of smaller lot size assets.