Yew Grove may hold fire on acquisitions due to coronavirus

Irish-listed property investor Yew Grove has indicated it may hold fire on some of the €120 million worth of acquisitions it is eyeing for the coming year due to ongoing market jitters over the coronavirus.

The company published annual results for the year ended December 31st, 2019, on Tuesday, which showed its net rental income increased by 267 per cent, while profit more than doubled from 2.3 million to €5 million.

Over the period, its property portfolio grew from €77.9 million to €115.8 million following the acquisition of six buildings in Waterford, Cork and Athlone. The company said it would pay shareholders a dividend of 6.75c per share.

After the publication of the results, Yew Grove chief executive Jonathan Laredo told The Irish Times that while the company was eyeing "a pipeline" of acquisitions worth €120 million, it would not be tapping investors for cash until the current crisis had passed.

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“The issue for us at the moment is we’re focusing on what is going on in the wider world,” he said. “We have some money which we will spend on assets, but we have other things and everyone else has other things to focus on just at the moment.

“The €120 million pipeline of property we talk about is very attractive and clearly we would like to buy as many of them as we can. Predominantly they are office properties.

“You should expect to see us buying one or two buildings over the next three months. However, whether we will do all €120 million is out of our control slightly at the moment.

“The timing of it is not entirely within our gift because clearly we need to raise more equity to do that. Just today, I wouldn’t be talking to investors about giving us equity. We’re focusing on making sure our tenants are okay and our staff are okay.

“It’s just that, speaking as someone who has been in the markets for a very long time, when you see a share price move 8 per cent in a day you shouldn’t carry on making very bold statements.

“I don’t know how coronavirus will play out but the markets will eventually reach a new consensus about when they’re willing to invest, and – when they do – we’ll be ready.”

In relation to the stalemate in terms of government formation in the Republic, Mr Laredo said investors were looking for certainty. “Whether it be a national government or some sort of coalition, I would expect there to be some certainty over the next two or three months,” he said.

“I think the fundamentals of our business are strong enough to deal with whatever comes. The issue is if I’m a US or European investor looking at Ireland, I want to know where Ireland is heading and once I know that I can make my decision.”