Cls Holdings Usa Inc

Good morning and welcome to this live video presentation of CLS Holdings PLC Half Year Results 2021. I am Fredrik Vidlund, Chief Executive and here with me is Andrew Kirkman, our CFO. Today we will talk about how CLS has delivered during the first six months of the year, but also about the future and not least our new sustainability strategy, which includes our 2030 net zero carbon pathway. First though, I would like to start with an overview of the period before we go into more details. The first half of the year was naturally shaped by the pandemic, but despite this, we have continued to have strong rent collection with 99% for the first six months, which has resulted in operating cash flow being at a similar level to last year. Net rental income was impacted by increased vacancy and lower income from our student and hotel properties. We did take cost actions to offset this fall, but with Sterling appreciating against the Euro, FX movements meant that our EPRA earnings per share fell to 5.4 pence per share for the first six months. On the vacancy side, we reached 7.7% as of 30th of June. Just over half the increase was due to recent acquisitions in Germany, deliberately bought with vacancy for the asset management opportunity on which we are making good progress. Valuations in the portfolio held up well and were flat for the group in local currency. Germany increasing, France virtually flat and a slight reduction in the UK. FX played a role here too, and this meant that our EPRA MTA was down 2.3% to 337.2 pence per share. The total portfolio is now 2.3 billion, with Germany a growing part of the portfolio. And on the right hand side of the slide, you can see the current split between the countries. We have today also published our new sustainability strategy, which includes a fully costed plan to achieve our net zero carbon pathway to 2030. Finally, the Board has announced the interim dividend of 2.3 pence per share, which is the same as the interim dividend for last year. On the next slide, I would like to talk in more detail about the valuations. On a like-for-like basis, the portfolio was up 0.2%, which, given the circumstances, is a strong endorsement of the resilience of the portfolio. Overall group valuations were down 2% in reporting currency and overall, including costs from recent acquisitions, in local currency there was almost no movement. Starting with the UK, total valuations were down 0.6%, as an effect of slight increase in ERVs and some yield compression being offset by increased vacancy. Like-for-like valuation was down 0.5%. In Germany, total valuations were up 0.7%, driven by a small yield compression and flat ERVs. This was partly offset by acquisition cost, but like-for-like valuation was up 1.5%. The French portfolio was virtually flat, with total valuations down 0.1%, from lower ERVs being offset by a 23 bps yield compression and reduced vacancy. With no acquisitions, like-for-like valuation was also down 0.1%. Now, moving on to acquisition and sales on page 6. In the last two years, we have repositioned the portfolio to increase the focus on properties with more potential for long-term growth and a focus on our core markets in larger cities. We have also sold properties which are smaller or have a higher alternative use value. And this theme continued in 2021. In the first half, we closed on six acquisitions, five in Germany and one in the UK for a total of 165 million pounds. These new properties are two in Berlin and one each in Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, and one in Watford, UK. They were acquired at an aggregate yield of 3.9%, but with a reversionary yield of 6.1%. They offer plenty of opportunities to drive growth through asset management and property management. We also closed on the sale of four smaller properties in the period and a further two in July. These properties were either sold for strategic reasons or due to their potential for residential conversions and overall sold just above latest valuation. We will continue to acquire with a focus on Germany and the UK, where we see the right opportunities, but we also recognize that the market are less liquid for now, and we will be patient, even if that means less acquisitions short term. We do expect to continue to make selective disposals in the second half of the year. I will now hand you over to Andrew, who will take you through the financials and our occupiers in more detail.

Thank you Frederick and good morning to everyone tuning in. This morning I'm going to run you through our resilient financial results for the first half of 2021 and the value being created by our in-house assets and property management teams through our focus on tenants before Frederick runs through the upside and outlook for the portfolio. Slide 8 sets out several of the key financial metrics for the business. In the first half of 2021, there was a near 5% strengthening of sterling against the Euro, which impacted a number of these metrics and is a key theme of these results. For the first six months of 2021, EPRA NTA was down 2.3% to 337.2p, with EPRA EPS down 22.9%. driven by currency movements and lower occupancy. More detail is given on the next two slides. The first half was a busy period in terms of acquisitions and financing. It was particularly pleasing to be able to maintain our weighted average debt maturity at 4.6 years, whilst reducing the cost of debt to 2.22%, a new record low for the group. The 2021 interim dividend is maintained at the same level as 2020, but consistent with last year, we will evaluate the full year dividend alongside the expected improvement in second half performance. Finally, the reduction in EPRA NTA plus the dividend paid in 2021 results in a total accounting return of minus 0.8%. Over the next few slides, I will look at some of these numbers in more detail and the drivers behind them. The waterfall chart on slide 9 sets out the main components of the movement in EPRA net tangible assets, with NTA remaining largely flat over the period before the reduction from the strengthening of sterling. Going through the components of the movements from opening to closing MTA, we have the final 2020 dividend paid in April of £21.2 million or 5.2 pence per share. EPRA earnings of 5.4 pence, which is a 1.6 pence decrease from 2020 and is broken down in more detail in the next slide. The valuation movement on the portfolio was essentially flat, continuing to demonstrate the benefits of diversification in a challenging market. This valuation movement is in two parts. Firstly, investment property valuations were down £2.8 million or 0.7 pence, with valuation gains in Germany more than offset by weakness in the UK and a flat performance in France. This was offset by the increase in the value of our student accommodation and hotel in Vauxhall of 0.3 pence per share, reflecting improved sentiment. Next, the reduction of 1.4 pence in tax slash other essentially reflects the substantive enactment of the increase in the UK corporation tax rate from 19 to 25% from 2023. This results in an increase in the expected tax on future UK disposals and capital allowances, which are part of the difference between EPRA NAV and EPRA NTA. And lastly, sterling strengthened by 4.9% against the euro in the period, resulting in a 6.4 pence decrease, being the decrease in the value of our properties in Germany and France, partly offset by the natural hedge of the associated euro debt. It is also worth noting that Sterling last week hit a post-pandemic high against the Euro. Turning to the next slide, we have set out the movement in EPRA earnings per share, which fell by 22.9%. Again, though, this is a broadly flattish performance, heavily skewed by FX movements. The principal movements, which are as highlighted in the graph, are as follows. a 1.0 pence per share or £4.3 million reduction in net rental income largely is a result of two things. Firstly, reduced income from our student and hotel operations due to COVID-related lower occupancy and secondly, reduced dilapidations income. This rental reduction was mostly offset by a 0.9 pence reduction in expenses due to lower staff costs following a restructuring and lower provisions including bad debt costs reflecting our ongoing very strong rent collection. A 0.3% increase in net finance expense and tax was largely a result of higher debt and lower cash balances. And finally, the impact of the 4.9% strengthening of sterling relative to the Euro, resulting in this 1.2 pence decrease. For as highlighted previously, whilst most foreign exchange movements go through other comprehensive income, movements on UK-based Euro denominated bank accounts go through the income statement. Slide 11 sets out the movement in CLS's liquid resources during the first half of 2021. Despite considerable acquisition activity, our cash position remained strong with nearly 170 million of cash and 50 million of undrawn resources. Cash went down by 67 million in the first half as a result of this investment in the business, with acquisitions of 163.9 million pounds and 19.7 million of capex as part of our refurbishment and limited development programme, more of which from Frederick shortly. This was partly funded by loan drawdowns of £98.8 million and £17.7 million from the sale of properties, with cash from operations exactly offset by the payment of dividends, interest, tax and other costs. On slide 12 we have set out our debt activity so far this year. We continue to maintain strong relationships with over 25 different lenders, which have proved invaluable in securing new financings. In the period, we secured five loans in Germany and a new portfolio loan in the UK, totaling 143.6 million. These were all at fixed rates, given continuing low rates of interest. Also, we are in advanced discussions for the remaining 52.4 million of loans expiring in 2021. The highlight of the financing activity in the period was the execution of a second long-term green loan. The 12-year loan with Scottish Widows at 2.65% is inclusive of a 10 basis point sustainability margin incentive. This loan together with the Aviva loan means that over 20% of our loan book is now green and we are on target to secure the first year margin incentives for both loans. The activity in the period ensured that we maintained our average debt maturity at 4.6 years, with healthy interest cover of 3.2 times, all while lowering our portfolio cost of debt to 2.2%. This reduction in interest rates was a result of having a greater proportion of lower cost Euroday nominated loans due to the financing of our recent German acquisitions. Speaking of acquisitions, slide 13 shows the growth in our property portfolio during the first half of 2021, largely driven by purchase, with a portfolio valued at over 2.3 billion now. As shown on the slide, the two biggest movements were the £177.2 million increase from our five acquisitions in Germany and the one in the UK, and the £45.6 million reduction from the 4.9% strengthening of Sterling. As highlighted previously, there was limited net movement on the revaluation of the portfolio. As set out at the top of slide 14, rent collection remains very strong at 99%, which is testament to the multi nature of our buildings on our 785 high quality diversified tenants across our three markets. Approximately 24% of our rents are coming from government agencies, and 27% from major corporations. The bottom left of the slide sets out the hit parade of our top 15 tenants, with Siemens being a new entrant to the chart at number five, as a result of our acquisition at The Bricks in Essen, which serves as a regional headquarters for the industrial powerhouse. My final slide, slide 15, summarises our lessing activity in the first half and some of the key rental statistics for the group. Whilst the 53 deals in the first half, securing £5.2 million of annual rent, were slightly below ERV, once the lease with Veolia to fill up our building inside in Paris excluded, the deals were 1.2% above ERV. Pleasingly, a greater proportion of the leases secured were new deals, with the split being back to the same proportions as pre-pandemic, reflecting that tenants are increasingly willing to commit to new deals rather than extensions. Although, as shown in the bottom left, the waltz has reduced slightly as tenants are seeking and CLS is happy to offer greater flexibility in lease terms. The graph in the bottom right shows that over the last three and a half years, we've managed to grow rents by over 3%, despite the reduction caused in 2021 by strengthening sterling and the increased proportion of German properties, which are comparatively lower rents. Finally, the graph in the top right shows the considerable upside to be gained through our core strength of active asset management to the portfolio, from both capturing the under-renting of properties through re-gears, and as we reduce the vacancy, which has increased mostly from new acquisitions. And with that, I'll hand back to Frederick to run through the considerable upside potential within the portfolio.

Thank you, Andrew. On the next few slides, I would like to discuss how we work the portfolio, our approach to sustainability and longer-term capital investments. Our core business is owning and operating office properties, which represents 93% of the portfolio. In the last 18 months, most of our tenants have continued to pay the rent, as you have seen from our collection statistics, but we have also seen increasing vacancies. In the first half, vacancies increased from 5.1% at year-end 2020 to 7.7% on 30th of June. As highlighted on the right hand side, this is driven firstly by acquisitions in Germany 1.4% and secondly an underlying increase of 1.2% mainly in the UK. On the plus side, the activity level has increased with more lettings and viewings in the last quarter and we expect this to continue in the second half. Over 50% of the vacancy in Germany, representing over 3 million euro per year, is in advanced negotiations. We have also increased our investment in the portfolio and continue to roll out our flexible office brand based offices, all to meet changing requirements from our tenants. Reducing vacancy is a key priority for the teams on the ground and we're also running various forms of marketing and incentive schemes together with our agent partners. Now, moving on to larger projects on page 18. With close to 100 properties, there will always be opportunities for refurbishments and developments in the portfolio, in addition to our ongoing investment programme. At 9 Prescott Street, London, we are investing 22 million to completely overhaul four floors, providing modern sustainable grade A-space, a new reception hub with an integrated café and full tenant amenities. Works are ongoing and are due to complete at the end of 2022, adding 2.9 million of ERV. In Vauxhall, London, we secured planning last year for 28,500 square feet for a new office building, which will complete the development of the Spring Muse scheme. Work has now started and we are investing 17 million in a new 10-storey building with completion in early 2023, adding 1.5 million of ERV. At Fordham Lange Stuttgart, we have planning permission for 141,000 square feet office development. Marketing is ongoing, but we will not commit before we secure a significant pre-let. Tended build cost is 33 million and the expected ERV is 2.5 million per annum. All these developments have been designed to the highest sustainability standards, focusing on low carbon, efficient plant and full tenant well-being, including roof gardens, cafe, bike facilities, lockers and opening windows. Moving on to slide 19, and for once, I would like to talk about the smallest part of our portfolio, our student accommodation and hotel in Vauxhall, together representing about 5% of the rent. We are an office specialist, and this building results from being part of the mixed-use spring-news scheme and are operated under management agreements. During lockdown, the impact was directly felt through lower occupancy, and as you can see on the right hand side, it fell to 46% for the student and 52% for the hotel, from close to fully occupied before. This is relatively good compared to industry figures, as both have stayed open throughout, but nevertheless, lower occupancy impacted our profitability in the first half of the year. The positive side is that bookings have increased rapidly from Q2 and we expect that the student side will reach at least 85% and the hotel close to 70% for the full year 2021. Both the student and hotel are well placed to increase occupancy as the economy rebounds given very positive customer feedback and location. On the next slide, I am very proud to be able to talk about our new sustainability strategy, including our investment plan. So today we published our new sustainability strategy, including our net zero carbon pathway to 2030. This has been a substantial project on a property by property basis, which has resulted in a fully costed plan to ensure that our portfolio will meet long-term sustainability goals. This plan has been verified by the Science-Based Target Initiative and will be published on their website. This strategy also addresses how we will ensure that all our UK properties will have an EPC rating of B or better, with a few exceptions, that the German portfolio will meet the new efficiency and carbon targets recently announced, and that we meet the Decret Tatier published in France for energy efficiency. An extract with details is included in the appendix, and the full plan is available on the CLS website. As Andrew talked about earlier, we have also closed two green loans, now representing 20% of our debt book, and we are targeting at least 50% of our financings to be green by 2030. Our solar capacity also increased with our largest installation ever at Pacific House in Reading now completed. On the next slide, we have set out our investment plan, including the above commitments. Our ongoing capital expenditure is in the region of 20 million per year. In addition, we also invest in larger refurbishment and developments on an ad hoc basis. CAPEX will increase in the coming years, and as you can see, we are committed to spending between £50 and £60 million in each of 2021 and 2022, with further CAPEX projects still to be decided on. We have included the £58 million we estimate is required over the next nine years to reach our net zero carbon commitment, less a proportion that will be recoverable from tenants. This will be financed from our existing resources as well as capital recycling. I will now move on to markets and outlook on page 23. Starting with the UK, we have recently seen more activity and confidence, but also clear feedback that bifurcation in the office market is now a feature in the UK when tenants are looking for space. Tenants are requiring modern specifications and location with several options for commuting, and we have the properties to meet this. We're also pleased that the attractiveness of offices seems to be increasingly recognised with several surveys as well as our own experiences backing this. Nevertheless, we expect that the UK will continue to be challenging for the remainder of 2021 as there is a lag factor, even if there are clear signs of a recovery. In Germany, the resilient economy and the strong office fundamentals with low vacancy and supply in the larger cities is supporting stronger demand dynamics. Activity in the German market, both for leasing transactions and acquisitions, has been resilient and we expect the second half of 2021 to be strong. In France, we see a mixed picture, with central Paris and Lyon performing relatively well, while there is more of a challenge in the suburban Paris market due to supply. Smaller spaces continue to hold up better, which is beneficial for our French portfolio. In the first half of 2021, we saw a decrease in vacancy in our portfolio, and we expect that the current levels of demand to continue. Finally, on my last slide, I would like to give an outlook and talk about some of the opportunities in the portfolio. So leasing activity is improving in all three countries, and especially in Germany, where as previously mentioned, 50% of the German vacancy is in advanced negotiations. Since completion in April, the five acquisitions also add 6.2 million of contracted rent, Our type of properties, quality and locations are well positioned for post-pandemic working patterns and are what tenants are asking for. This means that we are expecting a stronger operational performance in the second half of the year as vacancies reduced and occupancy in the student and hotel properties improve. Over the medium term, we have also set out in the graph on the right the opportunities we have of capturing additional ERV. Starting at the left of the graph, we have our contracted rent, followed by the ERVs of vacant space and net reversions. On the right side, you can see the estimated ERVs from current refurbishments and developments that are in progress and that will be delivered over the next two years. As you can see, there is substantial upside in the existing portfolio. Finally, after recent restructuring and reorganization, we are looking forward to hold a capital markets day in November in London, and that will be a chance to meet the leadership team, including our country heads. With that, I would like to conclude today's presentation. Thank you all for listening, and we will now open for questions.