VGP NV: Pan European Expansion and Stronghold Germany Lead to an Absolute Record in Leasing and Construction Activity
05 Janvier 2022 - 08:00PM
VGP NV: Pan European Expansion and Stronghold Germany Lead to an
Absolute Record in Leasing and Construction Activity
5 January
2022,
8:00pm,
Antwerp, Belgium: VGP NV (‘VGP’ or ‘the Group’), a
European provider of high-quality logistics and semi-industrial
real estate, has seen a strong performance of its development and
leasing activities in 2021 in all markets where the Group is
active.
The 2021 performance was characterised by:
- €79.7 million
signed and renewed lease agreements (versus €45.2 million for FY20,
+76% YoY), bringing total
annualized rental income to €256.1 million (+38.3%
YoY, in addition to that VGP signed letters of intent over
new future leases representing circa € 30 million of annualised
committed rent income if and when converted to lease agreements.
- 1,478,000 m2
under construction – 1.7x the level of Dec 2020 – representing
€93.9 million in additional annual rent once fully built and let
(currently
83.8%
pre-let)
- 652,000 m2 of new projects added to
the completed portfolio, now at 3.09 million m2
(99.4%
let)
- Expansion of land bank secures
future growth
- 4.04 million m2 of new land
positions acquired and a further 3.98 million m2 committed subject
to permits
- Total land bank acquired and
committed has grown to 10.94 million m2
(+43.0%
YoY) which provides at least 5 million m2 of
future lettable area
- Started
operations in France, Serbia and Croatia and eyeing further
expansion in other continental European countries including Sweden,
Greece and Denmark
- Launched fourth
joint venture with Allianz Real Estate with an investment capacity
of €2.8 billion and first closing anticipated in second half of
2022
- Strong capital
position following completion of €300 million capital increase on
24 November 2021
- Consolidated
financial results for FY2021 are scheduled for publication on 24th
of February. The Annual Report 2021 is scheduled to be published on
12th of April
VGP’s Chief Executive Officer, Jan Van
Geet, said: “Our 2021 operational performance was
underpinned by a surge in demand resulting in a record number of
new leases signed : in the course of one single year to the same
amount as to what our entire rent roll four years ago consisted of
– with as predominant drivers space required for the adoption of
new technologies and the rise of e-commerce.”
Jan Van Geet continued: “Due to our growing and
readily available land bank, we have been able to start-up many
iconic mostly fully pre-let projects this year – including our VGP
Park Gießen Am alten Flughafen, Berlin Oberkrämer, Budapest
Aerozone and Sevilla Dos Hermanas, and significantly expanded –
again mostly pre-let – construction works in many existing parks,
including in Bratislava, Magdeburg and Nijmegen. Yet, at the same
time we have been able to make important investments into land and
redevelopment opportunities that will drive our Group’s future
prospects through 32 land acquisitions in the course of 2021, and
41 committed land plots. Due to the successful capital raise
conducted in November and the new joint venture announced last week
with Allianz we are set to continue to be able to seize more of
such prime opportunities and look with confidence into 2022.”Jan
Van Geet added: “Last year, we made significant progress on our
sustainability agenda as we further enhanced our building and
reporting standards, are working on several DGNB Klima Positive
pilot projects, switched all VGP offices to green energy and our
foundation agreed to support 30 projects around environment, social
engagement and cultural heritage preservation .
Jan Van Geet concluded: I want to
end by thanking our colleagues and partners. The contrast between
the hardship imposed on all those continued to be affected by
COVID-19 and the very high level of client-led demand for logistics
created a challenging and complex environment for all of us at VGP
to navigate. I owe all the members of the VGP Family a great deal
of gratitude.”
OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS
Strong new leasing
activity continued
- Signed and
renewed rental income of € 79.7 million driven by 1,313,000 m² of
new lease agreements signed (corresponding to € 74.6 million of new
annualised rental income), combined with 102,000 m² of lease
agreements renewed (corresponding to € 5.1 million of annualised
rental income).
- Germany
contributed half of the new leases (€ 37.3 million; 50%) whilst the
remainder was geographically well spread across the markets VGP
operates: Czech Republic € 10.2 million (14%), Spain € 5.4 million
(7%), Hungary € 4.2 million (6%), Romania €3.5 million (5%), Italy
€3.3 million (4%), Austria €3.2 million (4%), Portugal €2.4 million
(3%), Slovakia € 2.1 million (3%), Latvia €1.9 million (3%) and
Netherlands €1.1 million (1%).
- Terminations
represented a total of € 3.7 million or 70,000 m2 (of which 46,000
m2 within the Joint Ventures’ portfolio).
- The total
signed lease agreements represent € 256.1 million1 annualised
committed rental income (equivalent to 4.46 million m² of lettable
area), a 38.3% increase versus December 2020 reported at € 185.2
million.
- In addition to
the signed lease agreements , VGP has signed a number of Letters of
Intent over new future Leases representing € 30 million of
annualised committed rent income if and when converted to lease
agreements.
- VGP expects a
significant amount of rental increase throughout its entire
portfolio as virtually all of its lease agreements are annually
indexed against inflation.
Record level of construction
activity
- During 2021 we
delivered 26 projects representing a record 652,000 m² of lettable
area, which equates to €32.0 million of annualised committed rental
income (99.8% let).
- At year-end 50
projects were under construction representing 1,478,000 m² of
future lettable area, which, once delivered and fully let, will
generate €93.9 million of annualised committed rental income; the
portfolio under construction at year-end was 83.8% pre-let2.
Record land bank
expansion
- Over the last
12 month in total 4,037,000 m2 of land was acquired representing a
development potential of 1,776,000 m2 and a further 3,981,000 m2 of
land plots were committed, pending permits, which have a
development potential of at least 1,690,000 m2 of future lettable
area, bringing the total owned and committed land bank to
10,938,000 m2 (+43.0% year-over-year), supporting a minimum of
4,983,000 m2 of future lettable area
- In addition to
the owned and committed land bank, VGP has signed non-binding
agreements (“land under option”) and is currently performing due
diligence investigations, on an exclusive basis, on the potential
acquisitions of in total circa 2,859,000 m² of new land plots
with a development potential of at least 1,304,000 m2.This
brings the land bank of owned, committed and under option to
13,797,000 m2 supporting a minimum of 6,287,000 m2 of future
lettable area.
- From an asset
value perspective, the land bank is predominantly Western
European-based but on the bases of square meters the land bank is
well spread across the countries in which we operate.
- Our team
continues to find additional – increasingly brownfield – sites for
future development, and we are working with planning authorities on
the most effective and sustainable utilization and regeneration of
such sites in order to reduce our impact on the environment.
Significant strengthening of the
team
- The team
expanded to >320 FTE equivalent as we hired 60 additional people
across the organization.
- We have
strengthened our teams across the board which will enhance our
product offerings and deepen our engagement with our clients.
Expanded relationship with Allianz
through fourth joint
venture
- In June 2021,
VGP and Allianz Real Estate announced the successful eighth and
final closing of the first 50/50 joint venture, VGP European
Logistics. The transaction comprised of four logistic buildings,
including two buildings in a new VGP park and another two newly
completed logistic buildings which were developed in parks
previously transferred to the joint venture. Following this
transaction this joint venture reached its expanded investment
target and is fully invested3. The transaction value was € 68.2
million4. The gross proceeds from this transaction amounts to circa
€ 51.8 million. Furthermore, in September 2021 VGP received a €21.1
million profit-distribution from the First Joint Venture.
- In December
2021, VGP and Allianz Real Estate entered into a new 50:50 joint
venture with a €2.8 billion target. This is the fourth joint
venture with Allianz Real Estate.
- The ESG setup
for the new partnership aims to encompass Carbon Risk Real Estate
Monitor and EU Taxonomy compliance, on a best-efforts basis, the
use of Sustainable Certification including high BREEAM or DGNB
ratings, and EPC criteria, among others.
- The managerial
and governance setup of the new partnership is similar to the first
three joint ventures with VGP serving the new joint venture as its
sole asset, property and development manager. Similarly, to the
first joint venture which reached its investment target, the new
joint venture will concentrate on the acquisition of
income-generating assets developed by VGP in Germany, Czech
Republic, Slovakia and Hungary
- A first closing
for the new joint venture is anticipated in the second half of
2022.
- In respect of
the expansion of the Second Joint Venture, it is anticipated that a
further closing will occur during the first half of 2022. This
third closing is anticipated to generate proceeds of circa €
120-130 million5
Strengthened capital and
financial position
- On 24 November,
VGP successfully completed a €300 million offering of new shares
(equivalent to 6.1% of shares outstanding).
- The net
proceeds and additional leverage headroom provide VGP with the
opportunity to reinvest in its development pipeline and continue to
grow the business.
- The Group
further benefits from renewed and expanded multi-year6 €200 million
revolving credit facilities which are currently undrawn.
Expansion of the Group’s European footprint
- The Group
further expanded its European footprint with the acquisition of a
first land plot in Serbia, where a 1.1 million m2 land position was
acquired near Belgrade Airport.
- The Group has
opened its first office in France (Lyon). In the coming period the
focus will be on identifying suitable development locations.
- Other
continental European countries, including Sweden, Denmark and
Greece, remain in focus for potential future expansion.
Significant growth in renewable energy power
generation
- A total solar
power generation capacity of 74.7MWp is currently installed or
under construction through 57 roof-projects. This is being realised
through a €38.4 million investment to date. In addition, the
currently identified pipeline of 37 projects equates to an
additional power generation capacity of 74.5 MWp.
Progress towards our Sustainable Development
Goals
- We have made
significant progress towards our Sustainable Development Goals and
are on track to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025 and 50% gross
reduction by 2030 under scope 1 and 2.
- With regards to
the sustainable building target, the Group aims for BREEAM
Excellent or equivalent for all new builds in 2022 (requirement
minimum BREEAM Very Good).
- As of 1 January
2022, all of VGP’s European offices switched to renewable energy as
a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement was reached with Scholt Energy
B.V., the independent energy supplier, and ACT Commodities B.V.,
the European energy trading house, to provide solar energy from
VGP’s existing solar farm on the roofs of VGP Park Nijmegen,
Netherlands, to VGP offices across Europe. The agreement covers
VGP’s 20 offices across 13 countries. Additionally, it is envisaged
to include VGP’s new offices in France and Serbia this year
also.
- Disclosure has
been significantly enhanced following the publication of the GRI
compliant 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report the Group reported
its annual CDP and GRESB submissions and obtained an initial
Sustainalytics score. The plan is to initiate an MSCI ESG score in
2022.
VGP confirms appointment of
new CFO
- VGP is pleased
to announce that Piet Van Geet has joined as Chief Financial
Officer starting 10 January 2022. Piet will take over from Dirk
Stoop who is stepping down after almost 15 years as VGP’s CFO
- Prior to joining
VGP, Piet Van Geet (*1985) has been 8 years the CFO of Drylock
Technologies, a leading disposable hygiene manufacturer with
operations in Europe, Russia, USA and Brazil. After his studies he
joined VGP as a project manager in the Baltics and Romania and
continued his career at VGD in auditing and finance consulting
prior to joining Drylock Technologies. Piet holds degrees at
the University of Antwerp of Applied economical sciences and a
Master of Tax law
- In order to
ensure continuity and a smooth transition process as well as
further strengthening of the Group’s corporate governance, the
board has decided to appoint Dirk Stoop as Company Secretary
starting 10 January 2022. By doing so, the Company implements the
principles 3.19 of the Belgian Code on Corporate Governance. With
the appointment of the Company Secretary, the CFO will no longer
fulfil any of the secretarial duties which were previously combined
with the CFO function
- The board of
directors have also agreed to amend the VGP corporate governance
charter to reflect the aforementioned changes
Outlook 2022
- Client demand
and shortage of supply of grade A logistics and industrial
buildings are supporting rent levels and occupancy. The underlying
fundamentals for logistics and semi-industrial real estate remain
robust with e-commerce continuing to be a big driver for demand of
new lettable space.
- Based on the
strong leasing activities as reported over the course of 2021 and
indications of interest received for the coming period, development
activities are expected to continue to operate at elevated levels
well into 2022
- Longer term
development activities will continue to be driven by client-led
demand and our ability to meet these opportunities with a.o. VGP’s
readily available prime land bank locations
- With regards to
VGP Renewable Energy, the Group focuses on an expansion of the
service offering through increased production of green energy used
for self-consumption and facilitating our clients in their
transitioning towards green energy
FINANCIAL CALENDAR
Financial Results
2021 press release |
24 February 2022 |
Annual Report
2021 |
12 April 2022 |
First quarter
2022 trading update |
13 May 2022 |
General meeting
of shareholders |
13 May 2022 |
Dividend
ex-date |
24 May 2022 |
Dividend payment
date |
26 May 2022 |
Half year results
2022 |
26 August 2022 |
Third quarter
2022 trading update |
18 November 2022 |
CONTACT DETAILS FOR INVESTORS AND MEDIA
ENQUIRIES
Martijn Vlutters (VP – Business Development & Investor
Relations) |
Tel: +32 (0)3 289 1433 |
Petra Vanclova (External Communications) |
Tel: +42 0 602 262 107 |
Anette NachbarBrunswick Group |
Tel: +49 152 288 10363 |
ABOUT VGP
VGP N.V. is a pan-European developer, manager
and owner of high-quality logistics and semi-industrial real
estate. VGP operates a fully integrated business model with
capabilities and longstanding expertise across the value chain. The
company has a development land bank (owned or committed) of 10.94
million m² and the strategic focus is on the development of
business parks. Founded in 1998 as a Belgian family-owned real
estate developer in the Czech Republic, VGP with a staff of circa
350 employees owns and operates assets in 12 European countries
directly and through several 50:50 joint ventures. As of June 2021,
the Gross Asset Value of VGP, including the joint ventures at 100%,
amounted to € 4.48 billion and the company had a Net Asset Value
(EPRA NTA) of € 1.51 billion. VGP is listed on Euronext Brussels
(ISIN: BE0003878957).
For more information, please visit:
http://www.vgpparks.eu
Forward-looking statements:
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such
statements reflect the current views of management regarding future
events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors that may cause actual results to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. VGP is
providing the information in this press release as of this date and
does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements contained in this press release considering new
information, future events or otherwise. The information in this
announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or an invitation
to buy securities in VGP or an invitation or inducement to engage
in any other investment activities. VGP disclaims any liability for
statements made or published by third parties and does not
undertake any obligation to correct inaccurate data, information,
conclusions or opinions published by third parties in relation to
this or any other press release issued by VGP.
1 For Joint Ventures at
100%2 Calculated based on the contracted
rent and estimated market rent for the vacant space.
3 Barring any top-ups related to assets being completed in parks
already owned by the joint venture4 The transaction value is
composed of the purchase price for the completed income generating
buildings and the net book value of the development pipeline which
is transferred as part of a closing but not yet paid for by the
First Joint Venture.5 Subject to final agreement between the joint
venture partners in terms of the transferred income generating
assets and pricing6 €150 million matures on 31 December 2026 and
€50 million matures on 31 December 2024
- VGP_Press_Release_FY2021 - EN
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