Grit Real Estate Inc - Detailed update for the year ended 30 June 2020

Grit Real Estate Income Group Limited, a leading pan-African real estate company focused on investing in and actively managing a diversified portfolio of assets underpinned by predominantly US$ and Euro denominated long-term leases with high quality multi-national tenants, today releases a detailed update for the 12 months ended 30 June 2020. The Company now intends to publish its audited results in line with Covid-19 reporting timelines set out by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (i.e. by no later than 31 December 2020) and has obtained formal approval  from the SEM for a similar timeline dispensation. The Company had previously announced that it intended to release its audited results for this period on 26 October 2020.

Bronwyn Corbett, Chief Executive Officer of Grit Real Estate Income Group Limited, commented:

"Covid-19 has created a challenging backdrop, which has impacted Grit's business over the past six months, but we are continuing to take actions to ensure the stability of the portfolio and that Grit remains financially robust. Our actions have included strategic asset sales, successful renegotiations with key lenders and innovative financing solutions which will enhance shareholder returns over the short and longer term.

Our office, light industrial and corporate accommodation sector assets have remained relatively unaffected by the pandemic, and with Group rent collection continuing to improve, including robust August and September rent collection that has averaged over 90%, the Group is increasingly confident in its outlook. This increasing confidence is further reinforced by the recovery of the Euro post year-end, footfall showing steady improvement in our retail assets and arrears balances starting to improve. We continue to make positive strides in our asset recycling initiatives, and we have further increased our headroom through the recent lifting of the Group's lowest enforced debt covenants to 55%.

The Group is well positioned for a recovery in the economies we operate in and continues to focus on delivering its investment strategy and exciting growth opportunities that underpin the Company delivering attractive, secure and sustainable income and capital growth to our shareholders from across our high-quality portfolio over the short and longer term."

Financial highlights

Operational highlights

Notes

Post balance sheet activity

BUSINESS REVIEW

The impact of Covid-19 (or the "pandemic") continues to test the resilience of the Group's portfolio, as the Group remains focused on its strategy, its tenants and continued leasing performance in order to navigate the current period of uncertainty while positioning itself to take advantage of future opportunities.

The safety and wellbeing of Grit's staff and their families, its tenants, communities and wider stakeholders remains the Group's top priority while the Company continues to work tirelessly to contain and mitigate the potential effects of the pandemic.

The Group's high-quality assets have a weighted average lease expiry of 5.4 years, a weighted average contracted lease escalation of 3.3% per annum and are underpinned by a wide range of blue-chip multi-national tenants across a variety of sectors who account for over 90% (2019: 93.6%) of our contracted revenue. Grit's property portfolio comprises a total of 48 operating assets (including 24 properties held in Letlole La Rona ("LLR")) with rentals predominantly collected monthly, of which 89.1% are collected in US$, Euro or pegged currencies.

Management's modelling indicates that the Group has adequate financing facilities through to December 2022. Hospitality and retail assets, which now make up 49.1% of the Group's property portfolio, are currently in the re-opening and recovery phase and their current trading performance and collection trends are ahead of budget for the three-month period July 2020 to September 2020.

Collections have remained strong since the onset of the pandemic and, despite the economic headwinds, collection trends have continued to improve in recent months with August and September collection rates averaging over 90% of contracted rental revenue.

Short term concessions, primarily in the retail segment, were agreed and have resulted in lost revenue of c.2.9% in the financial year end to 30 June 2020. Short-term payment deferrals of a further c.4.8% of Grit full year attributable contracted revenue were agreed driven primarily by the hospitality sector assets in Mauritius. These balances are predominantly now due over the period to 31 December 2021.

Financial update

Notwithstanding rental concessions granted, total rental income is still expected to increase for the year ended 30 June 2020 as a result of annual contractual lease escalations and as a result of asset acquisitions in the period.

The results are expected to reflect a lower NAV per share mainly as a result of the decrease in the value of the Group's property assets, the impacts of movements in currencies against the US$, mark to market adjustments for interest rate swap contracts, increased impairment charges and provisions associated with the Drive-In-Trading ("DIT") facility guarantee.

Reduced property valuations were predominantly impacted by net operating income movement and upward movement in discount and capitalisation rates in the hospitality and retail sectors. The balance of the portfolio, consisting of corporate offices, corporate accommodation and light industrial assets performed well, highlighting the continued importance of a diversified portfolio, both in terms of geography and asset class.

Investment properties are valued at each reporting date with valuations performed every year by independent professional valuation experts accredited by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors' ("RICS") and compliant with International Valuation Standards. A summary of the portfolio valuations is presented below:

Investment Properties summary

·      US$9.0 million capital expenditure was spent on Anfa Place Mall. The reduction in the fair value of Anfa Place Mall was driven by an increased discount rate and capitilisation rate for the ongoing vacancies and risk provision made on the retail sector coupled with lower cashflows due to Covid-19 concessions made as well as foreign currency translation differences.

·      The capital expenditure spent on Vale Housing Compound was US$16.7 million with the remainder being an increase in fair value.

Interest bearing borrowing

Cost of debt further reduced from a weighted average rate of 6.4% in the comparative year to 5.9% for the year under review. Several refinancing negotiations were successfully concluded, including replacing a number of the Mozambique loans with a cross-collateralisation programme with the Standard Bank of South Africa. The new US$140 million facility resulted in a c.100bp drop in interest rates versus the replaced facilities. More recently the Group has extended a            US$15 million bullet payment on an Investec Bank facility to February 2022, has extended maturities on several Group facilities and has secured an additional US$7 million revolving credit facility from Nedbank. Total Interest-bearing borrowings increased by US$41 million in the financial year to 30 June 2020, comprising funding for the Club Med Senegal asset, the additional VDE units and additional drawdown of working capital facilities.

The reduction in NAV has increased the Group's LTV to a level of c.50.5%. As a precautionary measure, Grit continues to engage with all of its lenders on extension to LTV and interest covenants as well as interest holidays on loans attached to Covid-19 impacted properties. The lowest applied Group LTV covenant has been lifted to 55%, providing further headroom.   

Protection of the balance sheet and debt reduction have become a strong focus for the Group and will continue for the near term. The capital recycling programme is performing in line with expectations; the Group has sold minority interests in AnfaPlace and Acacia Estate and are currently in advanced discussions for the sale of other non-core assets. The Board remains committed to reducing LTV levels through a combination of continued asset recycling, quasi-equity instruments issuance to Development Financial Institutions  and various government support programmes, selected NAV accretive acquisitions and some respite from both EUR exchange rate moves and valuation uncertainties, predominantly across our hospitality and retail sector assets. Cost saving measures aimed at permanently eliminating US$3 million of identified annual costs have been implemented over the last six months.

Grit continues to pursue a medium-term LTV target of between 35%-40%, but now additionally has a near term focus to reduce LTV to below 45%.

In light of recent events, the Board has decided against recommending a final dividend for the financial year ended 30 June 2020. The Board are encouraged by current collection trends and anticipate that dividend payments will resume in the new financial year ending 30 June 2021.

Despite a number of these ongoing challenges, there are positive trends which are expected to position Grit favourably in the short and medium term.

·      The Euro recovered post year-end.

·      The strength of our contracts and transparent tenant relationships were underscored with the resumption of payment by the Group's Mauritian hospitality partners from August and September 2020.

·      Footfall in our retail assets has shown steady improvement and arrears balances have now stabilised and have started to improve.

Leasing and rental income update

Grit achieved notable success in rent and arrear balance collection, and in a challenging environment, reported notable new lettings activity. In the year, leases over 96,654 sqm of GLA (representing 17.6% of total Group GLA) expired, of which c.89% has successfully been relet to the same or new tenants.

A summary of notable leases concluded during the financial year (presented on a 100% basis)

The weighted average Group EPRA vacancy rate increased to 5.9% at 30 June 2020 (2019: 3.1%) and was mainly impacted by near term disruptions to the Group's retail assets, specifically in AnfaPlace Mall, where country wide Moroccan lockdowns resulted in delays to start dates of previously agreed tenancies and led to the termination of a number of existing leases. The vacancy rate at Anfa, which stood at 21.5% as at 30 June 2020, has continued to rise with the recent termination of a lease over 1,800 sqm by H&M. The leasing team has made significant progress on filling vacant space and is currently concluding leases which are expected to bring the mall's vacancies to under 20% by December 2020.

On 18 September 2020, the Company entered into a binding agreement for the disposal of a 39.5% interest in AnfaPlace Mall and has thereby reduced its retail sector exposure in-line with its self-imposed sector exposure limit target of 25%.

Mukuba Mall, which marked its five-year anniversary, had lease expiries over 25,212 sqm of its total 28,236sqm GLA falling due on 30 March 2020. Covid-19 related travel restrictions and the failure of the Edcon Group, a South African based fashion retailer, resulted in renewal delays. As at 30 September 2020, 75% of expiring leases have been renewed or re-let and offers are in place for a further 3,893 sqm which will result in a vacancy rate in the Mall of under 1% by January 2021 should these be successfully concluded.

Drive in Trading contingent liability update

By virtue of the Group's historic listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Company's largest shareholder, the Public Investment Corporation ("PIC"), facilitated the Group's black economic empowerment and transformation partner, Drive in Trading ("DIT"), in the acquisition of 23.25 million Grit shares in June 2017 by providing a guarantee against their external debt facility. Separately, Grit indemnified the PIC for up to 50% of any potential losses suffered by PIC as a result of the guarantee, capped at US$17.5 million. Following the expiry of the loan facility, PIC has assumed the position of lender to DIT, and continues to reserve its rights under the Grit indemnity.

The PIC's Investment Committee has recently approved, subject to documentation, a formalisation of a revised US$ lending facility to DIT on the following terms:

·      Duration: Initial two-year facility with an option to extend for a further three years

·      Interest rate: 9% per annum (increased from the current 5.85%)

·      A requirement for Grit to fully guarantee / remedy any shortfall in interest payment obligations

·      Guarantee agreement between Grit and the PIC to remain in place for the duration of the loan. The Board and PIC continue to engage on this aspect and expect to finalise details on this shortly.

Further extension of reporting deadline

On 18 September 2020, the Company announced that the SEM had approved the extension of the deadline for publishing the Company's abridged audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2020 ("abridged audited consolidated financial statements") until Friday, 30 October 2020.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority has temporarily granted all LSE Main Market listed companies the option to delay the publication of annual audited financial reports from four to six months after the end of their financial year end and has urged companies to avail themselves of the additional two month period to fully assess the impact that Covid-19 may have on their businesses. Accordingly, the Company has formal approval from the SEM to further delay the publication of its abridged audited consolidated financial statements to the latest date of Thursday, 31 December 2020 if required,  which is now in line with the UK reporting timeframe limits.

Looking to the future

The impact of Covid-19 remains topical and continues to introduce uncertainty in managing a multi-jurisdictional real estate company. The situation remains fluid and the long-term impact, especially on the retail and hospitality sectors is difficult to quantify at this stage. The Board draws comfort from the structure of its contracts, the quality of its multi-national tenants and the diversification of its portfolio across multiple geographies and asset classes.

As reported in the prior period, Grit is seeking eligibility to the UK FTSE Index series and will be seeking shareholder approval to redomicile its corporate seat to Guernsey, alongside the already implemented conversion to a Sterling quotation on the LSE. The Group is making good progress toward its intention to step up to the premium listing segment of the Main Market of the LSE. These collective actions are expected to enable UK-oriented investors better access to Grit's shares, to support the Group's eligibility for inclusion in the FTSE UK Index Series, to significantly improve liquidity in the Company's shares and to further diversify Grit's investor base, all positioning the Group for growth through the Company's 2021 financial year and the long term.

The Company expect to deliver value to its shareholders by continuing to focus on maximising the yield of the current portfolio and unlocking value through the Company's operational expertise and proactive asset management, financial strength, and selective asset divestment strategies. The Board expects to resume recommending both interim and final dividends once again in the financial year ending 30 June 2021.

By order of the Board

26 October 2020

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

NOTES:

Grit Real Estate Income Group Limited is a leading pan-African real estate company focused on investing in and actively managing a diversified portfolio of assets in carefully selected African countries (excluding South Africa). These high-quality assets are underpinned by predominantly US$ and Euro denominated long-term leases with a wide range of blue-chip multi-national tenant covenants across a diverse range of robust property sectors.

The Company is committed to delivering strong and sustainable income for shareholders, with the potential for income and capital growth. The Company is targeting net total shareholder return inclusive of NAV growth of 12.0% p.a.*

The Company currently holds primary listings on both the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE: GR1T), while its listing on the Official Market of the Stock Exchange of Mauritius Ltd is termed as a secondary listing (SEM: DEL.N0000).

Further information on the Company is available at http://grit.group/

Directors: Peter Todd⁺ (Chairman), Bronwyn Corbett (Chief Executive Officer)*, Leon van de Moortele (Chief Financial Officer)*, Jonathan Crichton⁺, Sir Samuel Esson Jonah^+, Nomzamo Radebe, Catherine McIlraith⁺, David Love⁺, and Bright Laaka (Permanent Alternate Director to Nomzamo Radebe).

(* Executive Director) (⁺ independent Non-Executive Director)

Company secretary: Intercontinental Fund Services Limited

Registered office address: c/o Intercontinental Fund Services Limited, Level 5, Alexander House, 35 Cybercity, Ebène 72201, Mauritius

Registrar and transfer agent (Mauritius): Intercontinental Secretarial Services Limited

Sponsoring broker: Capital Markets Brokers Ltd

This notice is issued pursuant to the LSE Listing Rules, Article 19 of MAR, SEM Listing Rule 11.3 and Rule 5(1) of the Securities (Disclosure Obligations of Reporting Issuers) Rules 2007. The Board accepts full responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained in this communication.