News and Press Releases

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.

First Property Group CEO Ben Habib on the Share Talk Ltd podcast.

He said: “We’ve got £21m sitting in the bank and we will deploy that along with our client money to find assets that we think are undervalued or have real growth potential coming out of the pandemic.”

Founded and CEO of First Property Group plc @benhabib6 (#FPO.L) Interview @FpropPlc https://t.co/A19nrPI7Ym

— Share_Talk ™ (@Share_Talk) November 18, 2020

Writing in The Daily Express, Fprop CEO Ben Habib renews his calls for business rates reform to aid retail and hospitality.

“Unless action is taken soon, ministers will be directly responsible for a wave of failed firms and redundancies when the rates ‘holiday’ ends,” he says.

In The @Daily_Express our CEO @benhabib6 renews calls for business rates reform to aid retail and hospitality.

“Unless action is taken soon, ministers will be directly responsible for a wave of failed firms and redundancies when the rates ‘holiday’ ends.”https://t.co/juFQAMohxO

— First Property Group (@FpropPlc) November 6, 2020

Fprop CEO Ben Habib argues that Business Rates tax reform is needed to help tenants, landlords, and the economy during the Coronavirus crisis. 

He writes in City AM: “By its nature, the burden of this tax falls hardest on startups, small companies, and businesses experiencing difficulties. They have little income and often have to bear this tax out of capital — which is also, more often than not, scarce.”

Covid is an opportunity to scrap business rates altogether https://t.co/27XXZui2pk pic.twitter.com/CfzOj062v9

— City A.M. (@CityAM) October 16, 2020

Adding: “Calls for change are growing louder, and will reach a shriek when the March rates reintroduction takes its damaging hold. But by then it will be too late. The government must act now, and act boldly.”

Fprop shares were discussed by Simon Thompson and Investors Chronicle Editor John Hughman on “The Alpha Podcast: Bargain hunting.” Listen here from 7:29 to 10:26. 

Alpha podcast: John Hughman talks to Simon Thompson about the outlook for global stock markets and the strategies he’s using to identify companies fit for the Covid era https://t.co/uSepjlbh9J

— Investors Chronicle (@IChronicle) October 12, 2020

Thompson says: “Not all companies are actually doing badly… You can stock pick investment opportunities amongst the rubble… This valuation is absolutely crazy…”

Simon Thompson covers our shares in Investors Chronicle. He highlights our high rent collection rates and argues that Fprop shares should be worth more. 

He says: “Trading on a 36 per cent discount to net asset value (NAV), and offering a prospective dividend yield of 5 per cent, First Property’s long-term record of value creation for shareholders – the company has posted annualised growth in net assets (including dividends) of 22.7 per cent over the past decade and paid out cumulative dividends of 13.32p a share since I included the shares, at 18.5p, in my 2011 Bargain Shares Portfolio – is completely at odds with the miserly valuation. Buy.”

Our Annual General Meeting (AGM), held today, can be watched back on the Investor Meet Company website.

The accompanying RNS statement can be viewed by clicking here. The key points were continued high levels of group cash, a maintained dividend, and rent collection rates well above 90% in the UK, Poland, and Romania, despite challenges linked to coronavirus.

Join @FpropPlc investor presentation TODAY at 12:00, for all the company insights – Click below to register. #FPO

— Investor Meet Company (@InvestorMeetCo) September 23, 2020

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