News and Press Releases

Simon Thompson notes “the widening of the share price discount to NAV from 42 to 61 per cent since the annual results is largely due to greater investor risk aversion. When the gloom lifts expect the discount to narrow. Hold.”

Our Interim Results for the six months to 30 September 2023 can be watched back here.

Property fund manager and investor First Property Group has launched a senior loan platform to finance and refinance commercial property. The business will focus on making interest-only loans of up to £20m at a maximum of 65% loan-to-value ratio.

Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) can be watched back here.

Comment following Fprop’s FY 2023 Results – NAV up, underlying earnings up, leasing progress, new lending division, yet shares trade at c50% discount to NAV.

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.”

Following yesterday’s release of the Group’s Preliminary Results for the year to 31 March 2023, Simon Thompson of Investors Chronicle updated his “buy” recommendation. The article concludes with: “Priced on a 42% share price discount to book value, and with a reduction in vacancy rates supporting valuations at the group’s directly held high-yielding properties, the shares remain attractively priced. Buy.”

Heather Sandlin reports on Fprop’s new loan product and quotes CEO Ben Habib, who said: “Our move into senior secured commercial property lending via this platform is in response to a clear gap in the market created by higher interest rates and a retreat of traditional lenders, including banks. Our loan platform offers borrowers better terms than are typically available and investors in loans made on the platform a high rate of return. For these reasons it is a good time to be entering the market.” 

Fprop CEO Ben Habib discusses the Group’s financial results for the year to 31 March 2023

Virna Asara writes: First Property is looking to offer senior facilities secured by any existing commercial real estate assets including office, retail, leisure, hospitality, care homes and logistics. The loans would be offered with a maximum leverage of 65%, a minimum term of three years and up to 15, a fixed interest rate and no debt amortization required. ‘We believe this is a very compelling loan product because it fully responds to what borrowers need these days,’ Habib noted. ‘I think there is going to be a lot of stress for borrowers and since we are property specialists, we can take a much more robust view on loans and not only look at the financial parameters like a bank does.’