REIT
Edward West | Published 2 hours ago
Stor-Age Property REIT increased distributable income per share 5,1% to 129,29 cents for the year to end-March and it has guided similar growth of 5% for its new financial year.
A final dividend of 56,62 cents per share was declared and the annual dividend was 5,1% higher at 116,36 cents per share. Stor-Age is the only JSE listed REIT that focuses on the self storage market.
"The South African business delivered an excellent performance, our balance sheet remains conservatively positioned, and we made meaningful progress across acquisitions, developments, joint ventures and third-party management. While the UK trading environment was tougher, the long-term fundamentals of the market remain attractive," said the CEO Gavin Lucas.
He said the SA market remains attractive, supported by strong demand, the scale and visibility of the Stor-Age brand, a fragmented competitive landscape and a growing pipeline of acquisition and development opportunities.
South African portfolio rental income increased by 10,5% and net property operating income increased by 11,1%, supported by high occupancy, strong customer demand and continued pricing momentum.
On a same-store basis, rental income increased by 9,6%, driven by an 8,6% increase in average rental rates and a 0,9% increase in average occupancy.
Occupancy closed the year at 93,4%, while the SA joint venture portfolio increased occupancy by 8,100 square metres.
The UK portfolio experienced a more challenging year after a strong 2025. UK rental income increased by 1,1%, while net property operating income fell 0,8% and occupancy closed at 81,6%.
Lucas said the result reflected macroeconomic pressure and cyclical normalisation after strong post-pandemic trading from 2021 to 2023, rather than a weakening of sector fundamentals.
The UK joint venture and managed portfolios performed better, with occupancy increasing by 2,000 square metres across the JV properties and by 1,200 square metres across the five managed properties operational at the start of the year.
The SA REIT loan-to-value reduced to 26,7%, supported by a R500m equity raise.
Lucas said they made good progress on strategy, such as securing R200m of trading store acquisitions across Lock-Up Storage and Execustore in Kwa-Zulu Natal, and West Coast Storage in the Western Cape, representing 24,050 square metres of gross lettable area.
A new development opportunity was secured with M5 highway exposure in Maitland in Cape Town.
South African development activity includes a new property in the De Waterkant area, which sits at the entrance to the Cape Town CBD, Atlantic Seaboard and V&A Waterfront, as well as Melrose in Johannesburg, and the expansion of its Sunningdale property in partnership with Garden Cities.
In the UK, Stor-Age continued to build out its capital-light growth model through joint venture and third-party management structures.
Acton, co-developed with Moorfield, opened for trading in June 2025. The group also secured a management contract in Exeter with Time Investments and is progressing with developments at Chelmsford and Aylesbury with Hines, where Stor-Age acts as turnkey developer and operator.
A new sale-and-manage-back development in the South East of England is also expected to conclude in financial year 2027.
Third-party management remained on the growth model. Although total management fees were lower at R61,8m due to reduced non-recurring development and acquisition fees, recurring management fees increased by 15,6% to R60,7m, The platform enables Stor-Age to leverage its operating infrastructure and sector expertise with limited capital outlay.
SA REIT loan-to-value ratio stood at 26,7%.
Stor-Age expects distributable income per share for financial year 2027 to grow by 5%, with the payout ratio expected to remain at 90% of distributable income.
"We strengthened the balance sheet, advanced our pipeline, continued to mature our third-party management capability and maintained disciplined capital allocation. As a result, Stor-Age is well positioned to continue creating sustainable long-term value," said Stor-Age,
Visit:www.businessreport.co.za
Read the full article at IOL (Independent Online) →
ZA