LXi REIT lifs fourth quarter dividend expectations

LXi REIT reported “robust” rent collection of 97% in its fourth quarter to December on Monday, having been “actively engaged” with all of its tenants.

The FTSE 250 real estate investment trust said that, as a result of the rent collection, it had today further increased its quarterly dividend guidance by 6% to 1.44p per share for the fourth quarter ending 31 December.

That, it said, was expected to be fully covered by net rental income for the quarter.

LXi said it completed 41 rent reviews between 1 April and 30 September, representing around 20% of the portfolio rent roll, with a weighted average uplift of 2.1% per annum.

The average increase outperformed both retail price index and consumer price index inflation over the period, and reflected the benefit of the collared and fixed rental uplifts which are contained in 71% of the portfolio's rent reviews.

LXi said 96% of its rental income was either index-linked or contains fixed uplifts, with the index-linked reviews predominantly retail price index-linked.

The board said the portfolio comprised 139 properties let or pre-let to 52 tenants on long, index-linked leases, with over 22 years unexpired to first break on a weighted average basis.

“The company is also pleased to report that, following further agreements made with its tenants across a range of sites, the temporary rent reductions granted to its tenants due to the impact of Covid-19, as previously announced by the company, are now expected to be at the lower average rate of 2.85% of the group's total annual contracted rent for the financial years ending 31 March 2021 and 2022,” the board said in its statement.

At 1005 BST, shares in LXi REIT were up 2.09% at 110.26p.