News and Press Releases

Fprop CEO Ben Habib argues the case for lending against commercial property in the current higher interest rate environment. “The returns to be earned from lending are now as high as the kind of returns which had been available from investing in the underlying assets. And, of course, it is less risky to lend than to buy.”

Ben Habib, Fprop CEO, argues that the UK’s commitment to deliver net zero by 2050 is creating a buildings’ emergency, but that those with the requisite funds, expertise and appetite for granular work to upgrade our built environment should quite literally clean up.

Fprop CEO Ben Habib predicts …”As we were beginning to see in late 2021, once danger is averted, people will return to offices, shops and restaurants. Simple things once regarded as “old normal” will return and bring exciting new investment opportunities, deliver a level of certainty to tenants and create occupational demand.

Ben Habib argues that the Polish economy is a direct beneficiary of the “carry trade” resulting from continued quantitative easing, and that investment in its property market is an obvious way to benefit from this. However, fast-growing markets can be difficult to navigate and a two-tier market for commercial property exists in Poland. Most of the weight of money is focused on large lot sizes with long leases, where yields are tight. As lease lengths shorten, the capital value of such property deteriorates. We tend to avoid this segment of the market, focusing instead on property where we can add value by buying at lower prices off lower rents, and extending leases and refurbishing where necessary. When leverage is added, double digit per annum returns are easily achievable from rental income alone, with the potential of a further boost from capital gain.

Mr Habib told The Telegraph: “I was interested to read that Mr Ashley has offered [Sir] Philip Green a £50m loan. Especially interested, in fact, as Mr Ashley’s Frasers Group currently owes a pension fund, on whose behalf I manage property, hundreds of thousands of pounds in unpaid rent.

“Buying distressed assets and saving jobs is a positive thing. But if you are simultaneously refusing to honour your debts, you are in effect buying them with other people’s capital. In this case, that of vulnerable pensioners. In the midst of a pandemic, this is inexcusable.”

Mike Ashley criticised by landlord for refusing to pay store rents but offering £50m lifeline to Arcadia, First Property Group warns of legal action next year if the bill is not paid https://t.co/b8Y9026Wpi#HighStreet #Arcadia #retailnews #BusinessNews

— Retail Gazette (@retailgazette) December 2, 2020

Writing in Investors Chronicle, Simon Thompson has urged readers to invest in Fprop, highlighting “significant firepower to take advantage of investment opportunities”.

He concludes: “Trading on a modest PE ratio of 9 and offering a near 5 per cent dividend yield, expect the hefty discount to book value to narrow as the cash pile is deployed. Buy.”

Simon Thompson: A quartet of value opportunities https://t.co/d2Xfu2ZHuq

— Investors Chronicle (@IChronicle) November 30, 2020

Read in full: First Property Group plc: Interim Results and interview with Ben Habib

• Here for a copy of the statement;
• Here for a copy of the presentation;
• Here to listen to the results meeting (40 mins);
• Here to listen to Ben Habib, CEO, being interviewed on the results by IG News (11 mins).

Interim Results for the six months to 30 September 2020. Download the accompanying presentation here. Presented by Jeremy Barkes, Business Director, Ben Habib, CEO, and Laura James, Finance Director.

Ben Habib, First Property Group CEO, speaking to Victoria Scholar of IGTV about Fprop’s interim results, the changes taking place in the property market, and the trading opportunities he expects to see next year.

Fprop CEO Ben Habib writes in The Property Chronicle: “The only way to continue getting new homes on the market is by continuing to deregulate planning law.”

He adds: “Should widespread working from home… lead to an increase in the office vacancy rate, it would make sense to convert the excess supply to alternate uses. This would help the office market to adjust in line with demand and deliver housing.”

Read the article by clicking here.

Writing in the quarterly magazine Property Chronicle, Fprop CEO Ben Habib argues that Poland is bouncing back from the Coronavirus crisis faster than most nations in Europe and is increasingly attractive to investors.

A PDF of the article can be viewed by clicking here.

Fprop has published a statement on the moratorium on rent enforcement, calling for it to end. Martin Pryce, a Director and Fund Manager at First Property Group, said:

“For six months, the property industry—and by extension the pensioners and others on whose behalf it invests—have been shouldering the extra burden of unpaid rents as other sectors have been offered aid. This isn’t fair. The moratorium on rent enforcement must end or we will be unable to collect as normal for a third quarter.

“Abruptly extending the moratorium for a second time would simply delay the final reckoning, with tenants accruing debt and landlords put under strain. As the Prime Minister said when arguing against extending the furlough scheme, it is simply “keeping people in suspended animation”.

“As we leave the EU, the government must be seen to be on the side of business to ensure continued investment. Landlords, investors, and developers must now be treated with parity and allowed to return to normal like other sectors.”

The moratorium on rent enforcement must end.

Read the statement from Martin Pryce, a Director and Fund Manager at First Property Group: pic.twitter.com/dYX2gqr7CN

— First Property Group (@FpropPlc) September 16, 2020

CEO Ben Habib pens an article on why First Property Group welcomes the Financial Conduct Authority’s move to curtail “open-ended” funds.

The article – titled “We should welcome the end of the ‘open-ended’​ property fund” – was written for React News and republished on LinkedIn. 

Read our CEO, @benhabib6, on why First Property Group welcomes the Financial Conduct Authority’s move to curtail “open-ended” funds.

“BEN HABIB: We should welcome the end of the ‘open-ended’​ property fund”https://t.co/YQFakUmEGv

— First Property Group (@FpropPlc) August 27, 2020

Fprop opinion on Polish & Romanian property markets.

Fprop opinion on Polish & Romanian property markets.

Fprop opinion on Polish & Romanian property markets.

Fprop CEO, Ben Habib, discusses his most important investment guideline – to think from first principles and always be prepared to jettison guidelines and ignore received wisdom.

…we have, for many years, been earning double-digit returns from our property investments in Poland. There are many factors which have contributed to this success but, in a low-interest-rate environment, a key component of delivering such returns has been the use of leverage.

“The real brakes on the housing market”.

Fprop opinion on Polish & Romanian property markets.

Fprop opinion on Polish & Romanian property markets.

Rafał Romanowski interviews Ben Habib about the promising future of Eximius Park, Krakow.

“EU would exact a price for renewed membership”

Fprop opinion on Polish & Romanian property markets.

In his third article on the subject, Ben Habib cites a valuable lesson learnt from First Property Group’s first investment in Poland.

“There is clearly no option other than a hard Brexit”

In his second article on the subject, Ben Habib explains that Poland has a robust growing economy, and a commercial property market which offers a very significant yield gap.

Ben Habib explains what first attracted First Property Group to investing in Poland in 2005, and how it has since fared.

Fprop opinion on Polish & Romanian property markets.

Fprop CEO Ben Habib offers five suggestions to ensure the UK remains Europe’s primary destination for property investment.

Why being on AIM is tougher than it should be.

Fprop opinion on Polish & Romanian property markets. 

Fprop opinion on Polish & Romanian property markets.

Fprop opinion on Polish & Romanian property markets.

“What goes around comes around, Mr Carney”

…I’m extremely optimistic about the future of our economy and the underlying strength of our property market. UK businesses are used to having to operate in uncertain times, and I have no doubt that they will thrive with the many opportunities created by the referendum result…

“Carney’s calm tested by inaccurate assessments”

Fprop opinion on Polish & Romanian property markets.

“Nothing has changed in the UK’s trading status”

…with Fprop CEO Ben Habib.

Fprop CEO Ben Habib argues “Yes”.

“Back of the line? The UK has leapfrogged the queue”

Fprop opinion on Polish & Romanian property markets.

“Taking a chance at the back of the trade queue”

“Having savaged the Prime Minister, the enemies of prosperity will go for the middle classes”

Fprop CEO Ben Habib’s response to former Prime Minister Sir John Major’s article published in the Sunday Telegraph on 20 March 2016.

“Now the Bank of England has joined the Prime Minister’s Project Fear”

“Bank of England has joined ‘Project Fear’”

Fprop opinion on Polish & Romanian property markets.

Fprop opinion on Polish & UK property markets.

Fprop opinion on Polish & UK property markets.

Letter to Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government re Permitted Development Rights (PDR) … I therefore ask you to extend the life of the PDR legislation beyond May 2016 when is currently due to expire.

Fprop opinion on Polish & UK property markets.

Guest columnist, Ben Habib, calls on the next government to enact permanent legislation to break the stranglehold of our turgid planning system.

…in response to The Rt Hon Eric Pickles written statement to Parliament re: Planning update, March 2015.

Fprop opinion on Polish & UK property markets.

Fprop opinion on Polish & UK property markets.

Fprop opinion on Polish & UK property markets.

Fprop opinion on Polish & UK property markets.

Ben Habib, CEO, cautions against investing in prime London real estate at yields sub 5%, advocating instead selected good secondary commercial property, and residential development.

Fprop opinion on Polish & UK property markets.

Fprop opinion on Polish & UK property markets

Fprop opinion on Polish & UK property markets

Fprop opinion on Polish & UK property markets

Martin Pryce, Property Director, on discount retailing (ignoring discount food retailing for the purposes of this commentary).

Ben Habib, CEO, on leverage. It is neither ‘good’ nor ‘bad’ for investors, and should not be described in moral terms.

Fprop opinion on Polish & UK property markets

Ben Habib, CEO, on Fprop’s reasons for first investing in Poland and why it continues to advocate investment there.

Ben Habib, CEO, on the investment case for commercial property in Poland.

Ben Habib, CEO, writes that high sustainable income streams can be found in the UK secondary markets, where yields on commercial investment property have not pre-priced to the same extent as those in the prime London markets.

Ben Habib, CEO, writes for IP Real Estate magazine on Polish real estate.

Ben Habib, CEO, writes for the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) Investment Conference 2011…The reason often cited for bad property investment experiences is “too much leverage”. Actually the primary reason is overpaying for an asset in the first place and then, secondarily, employing debt finance against this inflated price or a revaluation. The net effect is to render the debt unserviceable by the low income yields being generated by the property.

Jeremy Barkes, Marketing Director, writes for Family Office Global magazine, published by the Global Partnership of Family Offices.

Polish pension fund regulations to be varied to include real estate in the list of asset classes in which domestic pension funds may invest.

Ben Habib, CEO, writes for the British Polish Chamber of Commerce (BPCC) quarterly magazine, “Contact”. It has subsequently been reproduced in several places.