Cromwell European REIT net property down by just 0.4%

The real estate investment trust attributed its stable income to its expansion into four European countries.

Cromwell European REIT (CEREIT) reported a net property income of €30.8m for the first quarter of 2021, a mere 0.4% decrease from the same period last year, when the Eurozone economy was not yet affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a bourse disclosure, the REIT attributed this stable yield to recent expansions to India, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This offset the losses from the disposal of 12 high-risk assets in the Netherlands, France and Denmark.

"We are pleased that our efforts havesignificantly reduced CEREIT’s exposure to any single country and tenant-customer, thus mitigating to a certain extent the expected impact on income from the legislated 15% rent reduction at some of our Italian assets, coming into effect gradually from this year," said CEREIT chief executive Simon Garing.

As of end March, 94.6% of its portfolio is occupied, a mere 0.1% decrease from the same period last year.

Garing said CEREIT's teams are well-positioned to manage the risks brought about by the ongoing pandemic.