Increases dividend for 19th time in past two decades
London, 29 May 2013 – TR Property Investment Trust, the longest-standing and largest property equity investment fund, has released a robust set of figures in its full year results, completing another year of substantial market outperformance, both in relative and absolute terms.
The results for the year ending March 31st 2013 saw the Trust achieve a total return of 21.5%, surpassing its relative benchmark (FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Europe Net Total Return Index, 17.8%) by 3.7%.
In addition, shareholders in the Trust have benefitted from a rise in dividend payments for the 19th time in the past 20 years, as net dividend per share rose from 6.6p to 7.0p, representing dividend growth of over 6% for the year for investors.
Speaking on the results, Marcus Phayre-Mudge, fund manager of the TR Property Investment Trust plc, said: “We are proud to report a strong set of results for the period, which further showcases the Trust as being one of the best ways to invest in property in a profitable and flexible way. Investors view the Trust as a property fund, but it is also an income generation fund. In the last 10 years, the average compound dividend growth has been 13% per annum, a growth rate far in excess of inflation.”
The Trust has also announced that Caroline Burton will succeed Peter Salsbury as Chairman of TR Property Investment Trust from July, as Peter steps down following a 16-year tenure at the Trust.
Looking back on the progress the trust has made while he has been Chairman, Peter Salsbury said: “The period between 2004 and 2013 has seen the share price advance from 95p to 186p, with dividends growing from 2.5p to 7.0p, despite significant volatility. Shareholders have rightly looked for income more keenly in recent years and the view that long term investors should enjoy a progressive income as well as outperformance on their asset value is a matter which the Board and our fund management team have at the top of their agenda. Our Manager’s current expectation is that earnings for the year ending March 2014 will be in the region of 7.50p per share, on the basis that currency valuations do not fluctuate widely and the impact of the income mix on the tax charge remain, which indicates continued income growth.”
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F&C Asset Management plc (“F&C” or “the Group”) is a diversified investment manager which traces its origins to the launch of the Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust in 1868. While many asset managers are owned by financial services conglomerates, such as banks or insurance companies, F&C is an independent business, listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. F&C is focused exclusively on managing money for its clients. Today the Group operates from offices in nine countries and manages £98.8 billion of assets (as at 31/03/13) for a combination of insurance clients, institutional investors, intermediaries and private individuals which collectively represent in excess of 3 million underlying savers. F&C invests across all major asset classes – equities, fixed income and property – and has specialist expertise in asset allocation, alternative investments, liability driven investments, multi-manager, private equity funds and ESG Investing. The Group includes F&C REIT, a global real estate asset manager.
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