CLS Holdings vacancy rates up; Q3 rents at 86% to July 7

CLS Holdings said it had collected 86% of contractual rents due by July 7 as it reported a rise in vacancy rates as coronavirus lockdowns took effect.

The property manager said collections increased to 93% after accounting for tenants it was supporting by switching to monthly rents.

It added that 98% of first-half rents had been collected. Group vacancy rates increased to 5.2% from 4% last December, due to completed refurbishments and acquired vacancy in the UK, and some recent lease expiries across its portfolio.

'All of our offices across the UK, Germany and France are open and we have made the necessary modifications to make the buildings compliant with Covid-19 safety measures to ensure we continue to support our tenants,' the company said.

The group's said it had more than £190m in cash at the end of June, giving a loan-to-value of 34.4% based on a December 31 2019 portfolio valuation, with a further £50m in undrawn facilities.

In 2020, the group had £114.5m of debt, across 9 loans, due to be refinanced and CLS said it was on track to repay or refinance all of them.

Five loans worth £90.4m had been extended or have approved terms for a refinancing or an extension and one loan of £5.1m had been repaid as the property, Park Avenue in Lyon, was shortly to undergo a substantial refurbishment.

CLS said it was in advanced discussions for the remaining three loans worth £24.1m.

"Our tenant base has a strong underpinning of government and major corporations, with limited exposure to those sectors that have been most impacted by Covid-19, such as retail, hospitality and leisure,” the company said.

“We are continuing to work closely with our tenants and this can be seen in our rent collections, which have continued to perform well, demonstrating the resilience of our business and strategy."