Performance and business highlights
• Strong like-for-like rental growth of 8.3% supported by rental indexation, turnover rent and the lease
renewal and reletting programme during the 12-month period ending 30 September 2023.
• For the nine months to 30 September 2023 retail sales and footfall were respectively 7.2% and 4.2%
higher than the same period last year.
• Rent uplifts on renewals and relettings, on the top of indexed passing rent, were 2.1% higher for the
12 months to 30 September 2023. 230 lease transactions were signed during the 12-month period
ending 30 September 2023.
• EPRA vacancy rate at 30 September 2023 remains around its long-term historically low level at
1.5%, the same as at 30 June 2023.
• Occupancy cost ratio (OCR) was 9.6% at 30 September 2023.
• Important merchandising projects underway at Woluwe to provide new stores for Zara, C&A and the
INNO department store in order to accommodate their latest concepts.
• Eurocommercial maintained its GRESB 4 Star Rating, achieving its highest score to date, and also
received an EPRA Gold Award for sustainability reporting for the tenth consecutive year (sBPR).
• Loan to value ratio (on the basis of proportional consolidation) at 42.1% after the July dividend
distribution.
• Direct investment result €1.81 per share for the nine months to 30 September 2023 (30
September 2022 €1.77).
• Direct investment result guidance for the full year 2023 updated, now ranging between €2.30
and €2.35 per share.
• In accordance with the Company’s dividend policy, an interim cash dividend of €0.64 per share is
expected to be paid in January 2024. The Company also intends to offer shareholders the
possibility of opting for a stock dividend instead of the cash interim dividend.
Board of Management’s commentary
Retail operations in our 24 shopping centres saw a continuation of the growth in retail sales that we
reported for H1 2023. Retail sales increased by 7.2% for the nine month period to 30 September 2023
compared to the same period last year. All our four markets and all retail sectors continued to show
positive sales growth, with the outstanding performers being services (19.9%), F&B (18.2%), sport
(10.7%), health & beauty (10.2%) and home goods (9.8%). The important fashion and shoe sector also
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reported positive growth (3.7%) despite the unusually warm month of September in Europe which
affected sales of the autumn collection. Overall, footfall across the portfolio increased by 4.2% for the
nine months to 30 September 2023.
Rental growth for the 12 months to 30 September 2023 was 8.3% due mainly to significantly higher
rental indexation. 98% of rents for the first nine months of 2023 have already been collected, indicating
that there has been a full pass through of indexation to our tenants who are generally trading well from
an affordable rental base and a low OCR, which still averages only 9.6%. Our leasing teams continued
to report healthy levels of tenant demand for our shopping centres, negotiating 230 lease renewals and
relettings during the 12-month period ended 30 September 2023. These lease transactions achieved
an overall positive rental uplift of 2.1% on top of the high levels of rental indexation currently being
applied across the portfolio. Strong tenant demand and letting activity have also kept our overall
vacancy level down at only 1.5%.
During Q3 we completed the negotiations on several anchor stores at Woluwe in order to provide them
with the right space to accommodate their latest concepts. Zara will lease the former C&A store, taking
an enlarged central mall unit of around 3,300m². Meanwhile C&A will trade from a reduced 360m²
temporary store and will return to the new 1,455m² unit previously occupied by Zara. INNO will also shortly commence the complete refurbishment of their three-level department store. Once the projects
are completed during 2024, they will provide a major improvement to the international merchandising
at Woluwe.
In Sweden, the final phase of the project at Valbo outside Gävle opened on 28 October 2023, providing a new entrance, external façades and seven new stores let to important Swedish retailers mainly in the F&B and consumer electronic sectors. see & read more on
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