Green Reit to make prudent change of tack

It's hard to fault Green Reit's timing. The company floated in mid 2013, on the verge of what promoters and industry veterans Stephen Vernon and Pat Gunne said would be an "interesting" property market. Yesterday it announced that the value of the properties that it has bought since then rose 24 per cent over the 12 months ended on June 30th – its financial year – to more than €900 million.

Along with that, it signalled that it is drawing in its horns, and is unlikely to be adding to the portfolio as it now stands. Vernon (pictured) told reporters that the "golden era" of the last two years is over and he does not expect the growth of Green's last financial year to be repeated in the current one.

In other words, the first phase of the recovery, where it should have been possible to pick up bargains and maximise value for money, is over. As a consequence, Green has moved from acquisition to the point where it intends to focus on managing what it has and building out its development portfolio. In doing this, it intends to err on the side of prudence, keeping its debt to asset ratio at a relatively conservative 25 per cent, down from the 35 per cent mooted in 2013.

The shift in strategy is down to Vernon’s and Gunne’s own read of the market than it is to a change in investors. Vernon has proved an astute judge in the past. He took the original Green Property private for just over €1 billion in 2002, and, as everyone else was buying, began selling its British properties, realising €1.48 billion within a short time. He then sold many of its Irish assets as the buying spree gathered pace here. Given that he knew both when to get out and when to get back in, his company’s decision to play things a little safer than it has over the last two years should make everyone else in the industry pay attention.