Grainger shares gained 2% to 272.8p in early morning trading on Monday, following a reported acceleration in like-for-like rental growth across its portfolio in its FY 2022 pre-close trading update.
The home rental company announced a total like-for-like rental growth of 4.5% year-to-date, alongside a PRS like-for-like rental growth of 4.5%.
Grainger mentioned a 5.4% new lets climb and a 3.9% rise in renewals over 2022.
Meanwhile, the properties rental firm noted a regulated tenancy like-for-like increase of 4.4%, and a PRS like-for-like rental growth of 5.3% in the five months to August 2022.
Grainger highlighted prospective customer enquiries remained at record levels.
The group also confirmed a 98.2% spot occupancy at the close of August this year.
“Momentum in the business is continuing to accelerate and our mid-market strategy and in-house scalable operating platform has delivered a strong performance,” said Grainger CEO Helen Gordon.
“Occupancy remains at record levels at over 98%. At the same time, like-for-like rental growth across our national portfolio is continuing to build over the second half of our financial year and we are seeing the strongest rental growth we have seen in a decade.”
Bristol acquisition
Grainger mentioned a new Bristol acquisition over the FY 2022 financial term, with a £128 million acquisition of 468 new homes at Redcliff Quarter in the city.
The purchase brings the company’s total investment in Bristol to almost 900 homes, including 94 new affordable homes through Grainger Trust, its in-house affordable housing arm.
Cost of living
Gordon highlighted the cost of living crisis on its tenants, and claimed it would make efforts to alleviate its tenants’ financial pressures where possible.
“Despite the buoyant rental market, we are very mindful of the financial challenges facing many individuals. We are therefore taking a responsible approach to rental increases, ensuring affordability for our customers remains a central consideration and balancing rent increases with retention,” said Gordon.
“We are also supporting customers where we can with their other costs by continuing to invest in the energy efficiency of our portfolio, with nearly 90% of our PRS portfolio offering the highest energy ratings (A-C), saving our customers potentially thousands of pounds a year.”
“In our newer properties, we are also providing free broadband and complimentary gyms, and we are providing practical advice and support to over 20,000 customers on how they can reduce their energy usage and costs, and other bills. In addition to supporting our customers, we have provided financial support to all of our colleagues, excluding our senior executive team, through an additional £1000 cost of living payment.”
