NewRiver occupancy rate ticks up following Capital & Regional acquisition
NewRiver’s core portfolio occupancy rate increased over the most recent quarter, following the group’s acquisition of fellow real estate investment trust Capital & Regional at the end of last year.
In an update for the group’s third quarter of the 2025 financial year, released on Wednesday morning, NewRiver’s core occupancy rate was recorded as 98%, up from 97% at the end of September 2024.
The group’s combined portfolio occupancy rate (including Capital & Regional assets) reached 96% at the end of the quarter.
NewRiver acquired Capital & Regional in December 2024 for £151m, creating a combined portfolio worth £0.9bn.
The group said that, across its whole portfolio, it had completed 261,800 sq ft of new lettings and renewals in the third quarter. This brought the total amount of leasing transactions across the REIT’s entire portfolio, including Capital & Regional assets in Q3, to 668,200 sq ft.
NewRiver also expanded on its capital partnerships during the quarter, having been appointed to manage Plough Lane Retail Park in Wimbledon. This brings the total number of assets NewRiver manages on behalf of M&G Real Estate to 17 retail parks and two shopping centres.
The REIT was also awarded a new public sector mandate, meaning NewRiver now manages 22 shopping centres and 18 retail parks on behalf of its capital partners, bringing its total assets under management to £2.5bn.
NewRiver also highlighted strong performance across its assets during the Christmas period, which it said demonstrates it owns “the right assets, in the right locations”.
In the three months to December, total in-store spend growth within NewRiver’s portfolio was up by 5.3% year-on-year. The group said that the best performing sectors were discount and value, opticians, health and beauty, home, F&B, and leisure.
Allan Lockhart, chief executive of NewRiver, said: “We had a successful third quarter, with the key highlight being the completion of the transformational acquisition of Capital & Regional Plc 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. As a consequence of this, our operational metrics remain strong, with rents on new leases exceeding previous levels and occupancy increased to 98% in the NewRiver portfolio, and at 96% across the newly combined portfolio.
“We are moving at pace with the integration of the Capital & Regional business to deliver the synergies outlined at the time of the acquisition which, with the portfolio performing well and growth from capital partnerships, mean we are well positioned to deliver sector leading returns over both the short and the medium term.”