Value & Indexed Property Income Trust PLC on Friday reported a a drop in its net asset value per share, and swung to an interim loss.

Value & Indexed Property is a London-based investment manager for UK commercial properties.

The company’s NAV amounted to 294.4 pence per share as at September 30, down 6.3% from 314.3p as at March 31.

For the six months that ended on September 30, it delivered a total return of 2.0% compared to a negative return of 1.3% from the MSCI UK Quarterly Property Index, its comparator index.

Rental income amounted to £4.1 million during the period, up 29% from £3.1 million the year before.

However, it swung to pretax loss of £7.2 million from a profit of £10.4 million the year before. The company bought a town centre freehold M&S Simply Food supermarket in Rayleigh, Essex completed in July for a total of £11.3 million.

VIP said its UK Property portfolio increased to £158.6 million at September 30, up from £155.8 million at March 31. ‘The portfolio remains well spread across the UK with strong tenants on long index-linked leases in all sectors except offices’, it noted.

VIP declared a combined first & second interim dividend of 6.1 pence per share, up 1.7% from 6.0p a year prior. It said its targeted total dividend for the full-year is 12.9p, up 2.4% from 12.6p in financial 2022.

Looking ahead, it warned that ‘risks are high and more stagflation remains most likely for the UK, for next year at least’.

Louise Cleary and Matthew Oakeshott, investment managers from OLIM Property Ltd added: ‘The Covid crisis taught UK property investors a stark lesson: stay on the right side of structural change, avoid offices, and focus firmly on properties let to strong tenants at affordable rents on long, preferably index-linked, leases - provided they are valued at realistic yields.’

Shares were up 1.0% at 227.85 pence each on Friday in London.

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