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Specialist real estate investor NewRiver Retail (LON:NRR) is looking forward to continued growth in its portfolio, as it updated on the three months to the end of September.
The company has increased the number of leases in its portfolio by eight to 955, completed 23 leasing events and increased the total portfolio occupancy to 95% in the period, it announced.
The 23 new leasings represent an additional total rental income of £946,000 per year - or 10.4% above estimated rental value (ERV), the firm said.
NewRiver specialises in shopping centres in regional towns and cities and has grown to become the fourth largest owner-operator of retail properties in the UK with over £400mln of assets under management.
Among activities in the period, it inked a new letting agreement with restaurant operator Burger King in Skegness for a new 15-year term at a stepped rent to £75,000 per annum together with a turnover top-up rent.
In Wales, it signed a new 10-year lease with leading value-retailer Poundland at £135,000 per annum, and at the Packhorse shopping centre in Huddersfield, it submitted a planning application to Kirklees Council for proposed works amounting to a value of around £1.5 million.
NewRiver said it continued to grow and enhance its commercialisation revenue across the portfolio with net income of £250,000 in the first quarter of the fiscal year exceeding management forecast by 38%.
The firm is confident of further growth in the second quarter and for the remainder of the financial year.
Allan Lockhart, property director at the company, said: "We have continued to build on the strong start to the financial year and achieved significant progress on a number of initiatives across the portfolio.
"Importantly, NewRiver has agreed a number of new lease agreements which now total 50 lettings and renewals since 1 April 2013, leading to increased occupancy across our centres."
Broker Liberum, which rates the shares a 'buy', was upbeat on the update.
"The shares have risen 17.2% year to date, outperforming the sector and market by 5.6 and 7.6 percentage points respectively," said Alison Watson, who added that they trade on 10.4% premium to current net asset value (NAV).
However, the play's key attraction is a 6.6% dividend yield, which Liberum reckons will grow to 7.5% by full year 2016 estimates, driven by earnings accretive acquisitions as it deploys the remaining proceeds if its June 13 equity placing.
The cash call in June rose £67mln for the group's expansion plans.
Shares are trading unchanged at 241.50p.