In a trading update for the 11 months to the end of August, Grainger said rental income increased 4.5% with private rented sector growth up by the same amount
Grainger, the UK’s largest listed provider of private rental homes with a £3.1bn operational portfolio of around 10,000 homes, is on course to post a record rental performance for the year to the end of September, the group has announced ahead of its financial year end on 30 September 2022.
In a trading update for the 11 months to the end of August, Grainger, which also has a £2.4bn pipeline of a further 10,000 or so purpose-built rental homes, said rental income increased 4.5% with private rented sector growth up by the same amount.
Helen Gordon, chief executive of Grainger, commented: Momentum in the business is continuing to accelerate and our mid-market strategy and in-house scalable operating platform has delivered a strong performance. 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.
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, she said.
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), providing substantial savings to our customers, she said.
She said: 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.
