ING Property Trust’s record revaluation gain
ING Property Trust’s record revaluation gain
ING Property Trust (the Trust) today announced its property assets have recorded total revaluation gains of approximately $90 million for the year ended 31 March 2007. This increase is the largest recorded by the Trust since its inception, and represents a gain of 10% on current book values.
The revaluation gains increase the value of the Trust’s total assets to approximately $1.05 billion. The unaudited net asset backing of the Trust has increased by 14 cents per unit to $1.30.
Strong value increases in each property sector have seen industrial, office and retail properties increasing by 13.2%, 8.0% and 8.9% respectively.
The level of the overall valuation gain reflects the strong investor and tenant demand for the size and nature of the properties within the Trust’s portfolio and also the potential for future rental growth with the portfolio contract rental currently 4.5% below market. The weighted average capitalization rate across the portfolio has strengthened to 7.9% from 8.7% in 2006.
The active management of the property portfolio and tenants continues to be a primary focus of the Trust’s property management team. Active portfolio management incorporates portfolio rebalancing and the recycling of capital by way of asset sales when it is determined that value has been maximized, or the future return/risk profile of an asset does not meet the Trust’s ongoing criteria.
At year end 16 properties were included on the disposal list. Of the $90 million of revaluation gains, some $12 million is attributable to these properties. Because the properties are recorded in the Trust’s financial statements at the lower of cost or net realizable value, this gain will not be accounted for in the Statement of Financial Position.
In addition to
the $90 million of revaluation gains, the Trust announced
revaluation gains of approximately $1.2 million for
completed properties owned by North East Industrial Limited
(NEIL) at the Manawatu Business Park. This represents an
increase of 4.4% on current book values. The Trust has a 50%
interest in NEIL.
Ends