Hibernia Reit rent collections remain strong as market recovers

Commercial property group Hibernia Reit said rent collections remained strong in the current quarter as the wider office market continued to show recovery.

In a trading update covering the period from October 1st to date, the company said it had collected more than 97 per cent of commercial rent for the quarter ended March 2022, with a total of 99 per cent either received or agreed monthly payment plans. Commercial rents account for the majority of Hibernia Reit’s annual contracted rent, at 90 per cent.

The remainder is residential rents, of which Hibernia Reit said more than 99 per cent had been received for the month of January, with more than 99 per cent received for November and December.

The period also saw the sale of Dockland Central for €152.3 million, a transaction that was completed in early October.

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In December, the company did a deal with KPMG Ireland to pre-lease 288,500 sq ft in its Harcourt Square office development. That will yield initial annual rent of €17 million when the 20-year lease commences in 2026.

The group has also been given permission to refurbish and extend Hardwicke House and Montague House, increasing the lettable office space from 88,000 sq ft to approximately 140,000 sq ft.

Dockland Central

Hibernia Reit said its in-place office portfolio totals 900,000 sq ft, with the vacancy rate increasing to 11 per cent, from 9 per cent at the end of September, due to the sale of the fully occupied Dockland Central. The majority of available space is in the Forum, Central Quay and 2 Cumberland Place.

It has agreed 12,000 sq ft of new lettings since September, with one lease termination expected during the period.

Net debt at the end of December was €146 million, with cash and undrawn facilities of €374 million. Taking account of the payment of the interim dividend of 2.0 cent per share in late January, cash and undrawn facilities at year end totalled €361 million.

"With the pre-let of the majority of Harcourt Square to KPMG, the sale of Dockland Central and the achievement of an A-minus rating in our 2021 CDP climate change response we are making excellent progress on our key strategic priorities of asset clustering and ESG excellence," said Kevin Nowlan, chief executive of Hibernia.

“Ireland’s strong economic performance, together with high levels of foreign direct investment, helped occupier activity recover in 2021 and with health restrictions in Ireland now lifted, we are optimistic that the positive momentum in the office market will continue in 2022, absent an adverse change in the direction of the pandemic.”