Colonial also completed the Alpha IV project at the beginning of October, which involved disposing of a series of mature assets, and acquired a 22% stake in SFL in November, as well as Diagonal 525 in Barcelona.
The cumulative recurring results at 30 September amounted to €68m (+15% vs previous year), boosted by a strong third quarter which registered €27m (+21% vs Q3 2017). This acceleration followed the recent completion of the Axiare merger in July 2018. Net profit for the period, including revaluation of assets made in June, amounted to €281m.
Strong increase of Gross Rental Income of +22% based on the incorporation of Axiare, other acquisitions, as well as a strong like-for-like growth of +5%, one of the highest like-for-like growth rates in Spain and Europe.
During the first nine months of 2018, Colonial Group signed 82 leases, corresponding to more than 154,000 sqm and an annual rental income of €37m. More than 97,000 sqm of the space signed related to the office portfolio, achieving significant rental uplift. Compared with the market rent (ERV) at December 2017, signed rents in Q3 2018 increased by +10%. In Barcelona, rents were signed +18% above market rents, while in the Madrid and Paris portfolios, they were signed +12% and +4% above respectively. Release spreads have been double digit in the third quarter: Barcelona +32%, Madrid +32% and Paris +13%.
The total vacancy of Colonial Group’s portfolio (including all uses: offices, retail and logistics) stood at 5% at the end of Q3 2018, with the Barcelona and Paris office portfolios registering particularly noteworthy low vacancy ratios of 1% and 2%, respectively. The Madrid office portfolio’s vacancy rate stood at 12%.
Source: Colonial