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NewRiver REIT PLC on Wednesday reported ‘strong’ operational performance in the third quarter, with rising occupancy rates and robust in-store spending during the Christmas period, as it advances the integration of its recent Capital & Regional PLC acquisition. The London-based developer and manager of retail infrastructure, which completed its £151 million acquisition of Capital & Regional in December, said combined portfolio occupancy stood at 96% at December 31. The standalone NewRiver portfolio saw occupancy rise to 98%, up from 97% at September 30. Chief Executive Allan Lockhart said: ‘We had a successful third quarter, with the key highlight being the completion of the transformational acquisition of Capital & Regional in December, which provided increased scale and will deliver significant future benefits, including a material increase in our earnings and dividends. ‘The newly combined portfolio remains focused on providing essential goods and services to UK consumers and is performing well, with tenant sales at our assets significantly outperforming the UK average.’ NewRiver also noted strong consumer spending at its properties during the Christmas period, with in-store sales growing 5.3% year-on-year, ‘significantly outperforming’ the UK average retail and supermarket spend growth of 2.0%. The best-performing sub-sectors included discount and value retail, opticians, health and beauty, home goods, food & beverage, and leisure. During the quarter, the company completed 261,800 square feet of new lettings and renewals across the combined portfolio. Long-term transactions were signed at an average 6.4% premium to estimated rental value and 14% higher than previous rents. Shares in NewRiver closed up 2.1% at 73.10 each in London on Wednesday. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights reserved.
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