The Colonial real estate company is studying diversifying into other European markets, especially Germany or the United Kingdom, to complete its portfolio of offices, which today is focused on Paris, Madrid and Barcelona, as explained by its president, Juan José Brugera, after the shareholders' meeting that held the socimi in Madrid.
Colonial already has real estate projects underway that will allow it to increase its rental income by nearly 60%, up to 500 million euros, when the buildings are operational, explained its CEO, Pere Viñolas.
Of this figure, Viñolas explained, 80 million euros will come from the 9 real estate projects under construction; 42 million from the buildings it has under renovation, with a surface area of 100,000 m2, and another 20 million from the assets it has recently acquired, such as the Amundi headquarters in Paris, whose rents will be included in Colonial's income this year, as well as contract renewals, which are signed with higher rental prices. The real estate company, which entered 314 million euros last year, has already signed rental contracts that assure it a rental income of 435 million this year.
Viñolas assured that the company has done its homework and is prepared to face the worsening of the economy, with a possible recession in 2023 and the rise in interest rates that has already begun. The firm, he reminded him, is now financed in the bond market, at fixed interest rates and lower than those of bank financing. In addition, Brugera explained, the pandemic has polarized the office market, reinforcing the attractiveness of buildings like Colonial's. “Buildings with a good location, morphology and sustainability, like those of Colonial, have more value. And we captured better companies as tenants”, from the corporate elite. "These are companies in which the human resources departments seek to offer an attractive environment for workers, to attract talent and as an alternative to teleworking." Thus, he explained, the group has an occupancy of its offices of 96%, which in Paris has broken its historical record and is at 99%.
The company announced at the meeting that it will raise the dividend payment by 10% again, which will stand at 0.24 cents per share. “We want to continue this path of increases, which we only interrupted the year of the covid,” Viñolas assured. The company acknowledged that it is concerned about the evolution of the stock on the stock market (still 44% below pre-pandemic levels).
