Summary

Sirius Real Estate represents a unique opportunity for investors to gain exposure, through a UK REIT, to the attractive light industrial business park and out-of-town office sectors in Germany and more recently, in the UK, managed by a growing market leading owner and operator with a strong and long track record of value creation.

Having entered the UK market in November 2021 via the acquisition of BizSpace, a leading provider of regional flexible workspace, Sirius now intends to apply its proven asset management skills to this new market, having already increased BizSpace’s like-for-like annualised rent roll by 7.5% within the first 4.5 months of ownership.

Delivering a stable and attractive return profile

  • Sirius has delivered a double-digit total shareholder accounting return in excess of 13% over the last three years
  • The Group’s policy of distributing 65% of FFO as dividends ensures it maintains a well-covered dividend and provides the head-room to flex pay-out ratios as required
  • Full covered dividend, with consistent dividend growth over past 8 years, including throughout the Covid-19 pandemic
  • Defensive gross yield of 7% with valuation gains mainly resulting from income growth generated by asset management
  • Further value and income enhancement to come from a combination of asset recycling, filling vacant space in recently acquired assets, implementation and completion of accretive capex investment programmes and reductions in service charge leakage

Sirius has a well-structured, well-located portfolio…

  • Sirius owns and manages a portfolio of over €2.5 billion of property assets comprising industrial, manufacturing, office and storage assets in edge of town locations
  • Mixed-use assets are situated in strategic locations: in and around the “big seven” German markets[1] and in core regional hotspot clusters across the UK
  • Sirius has a well-diversified tenant base. In Germany, its top 50 tenants generate 45% of annual income. In the UK, 26% of annual income is generated by the top 100 tenants
  • Future value enhancement to come from developing and letting more than 118,000 sqm of vacant space in Germany and more than 45,000 sqm of vacant space in the UK
  • Sirius maintains overall group LTV at 45% or less, financing new acquisitions with up to 50% LTV using long-term, low interest debt and subsequently blending them with unencumbered assets in the portfolio

…in two highly attractive markets with strong, long-term fundamentals

  • The German economy is the largest in Europe: characterised by long term GDP growth, low unemployment and high levels of investment and consumer spending, it is forecast to grow by c. 1.9% in 2022 and 2.4% in 2023. 99% of German companies are SMEs - the core customer of Sirius
  • The UK’s regional flexible workspace and industrial market is characterised by chronic supply constraints, offering potential for significant rental growth and consolidation due to high levels of market fragmentation.
  • Industrial assets can be acquired at attractive yields and at capital values well below replacement cost
  • Sirius seeks to buy assets with the potential to create value, predominantly through the asset management process by filling vacant space and converting space to higher value uses

Operating with a proven business model and solid track record

  • Sirius has proven capability in transforming assets through its capex investment programmes, which deliver returns in excess of 40% and enhance income and capital values. The Company also has a strong track record for growing its income and has delivered like-for-like rent roll growth in excess of 5% for the last eight consecutive years (within its German platform)
  • Unlike its competitors, Sirius has a fully integrated operating platform incorporating in-house marketing and sales functions that targets prospective tenants directly using online and offline techniques that lower risk and increase returns
  • Dedicated service charge team delivers best-in-class cost recovery by utilising advanced measurement and cost allocation techniques
  • The Company is led by a team of highly experienced individuals who have been tested over the full real estate investment cycle

Platform synergies help drive value creation

  • Industrial and out of town office markets in the UK and Germany share similar characteristics
  • BizSpace structure and internal operating platform complements Sirius’ existing German business, allowing for meaningful operational and financial synergies to drive value creation for Sirius shareholders
  • Sirius will apply its proven asset management skills to this new market and has already increased BizSpace’s like-for-like annualised rent roll by 7.5% within the first 4.5 months of ownership.


Operations

How did the idea of the company come about?

Sirius Real Estate Limited is a company incorporated in Guernsey and resident in the United Kingdom for tax purposes, whose shares are publicly traded on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and the Main Board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

The principal activity of the group is the investment in, and development of, commercial and industrial property to provide conventional and flexible workspace in Germany and the United Kingdom.


Strategy

Sirius specialises in the ownership, development and operations of business parks throughout Germany and the UK which have either attractive yields, value-add potential, or both. What makes Sirius different is its best-in-class operating platform and intensive asset management programme. Combining the Sirius property portfolio together with its unique operating platform gives it a range of advantages in the market which enable the delivery of strong and consistent returns for shareholders.

The company's core strategy is the acquisition of business parks in Germany and the UK that have either attractive yields, value-add potential, or both. Sirius transforms these business parks into higher-quality assets through investment and intensive asset management.

Once sites are mature and net income and values have been optimised, Sirius may then refinance the sites to release capital for investment in new sites or consider the disposal of sites in order to recycle equity into assets which present greater opportunity to deploy the Sirius team’s asset management skills.

There are five key value drivers:

  1. Active Portfolio Management – increasing rental and capital value through active portfolio management.
  2. Transforming and Converting Vacant Space - subdividing and improving existing space so that it can be marketed directly to occupiers using the different Sirius products.  
  3. Occupancy and Rental Growth – transforming assets by delivering improvements to tenant mix, occupancy levels and rents.
  4. Improvement of Service Charge Recovery – delivering best-in-class cost recovery by utilising advanced measurement and cost allocation techniques.
  5. Growth Through Acquisition and Asset Recycling – optimising value and recycling equity into assets which present greater opportunity for active asset management.  

Mission

The mission of the company is to create and manage workspaces that empower small and medium-sized businesses to grow, evolve and thrive. Sirius seeks to unlock the potential of its people, its properties and the communities in which it operates so that, together, it can create sustainable impact and long-term financial and social value.

Portfolio

Sirius operates a significant portfolio of assets across Germany and the UK. In Germany, its focus is on the seven largest cities: Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Köln, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and München, with a secondary focus on a selection of key border towns such as Aachen, Saarbrücken, Mahlsdorf and Frieburg. In the UK, where it operates under the BizSpace brand, its sites are in convenient, regional locations.

The company looks for mixed-use properties, primarily light industrial units, business parks or office buildings outside city centres, or on the edge of towns, in neighbourhoods which have a high density of commercial and industrial activity and good transport links. By revitalising, providing and actively-managing the optimum spaces for its tenants, Sirius helps them expand, move and multiply.


The book value is €2,032.30 million and the net operating income (NOI) is €137.9 million, equating to a net yield (or the cap rate) of 6.8%.

Investment properties - owned assets
Geographical region Annualised rent roll (€m) Book value (€m) Net operating income (€m) Capital €value/ sqm Gross yield[2] Net yield[3] Vacant space sqm Rate per sqm € Occupancy % Proportion of total
Germany 115.2 1,653.9 105.0 910 7.0% 6.3% 283,711 6.53 83.8%
United Kingdom 46.5 378.4 32.9 90 12.3% 8.7% 547,033 12.64 87.0%
Total 161.7 2,032.30 137.9 6.8% 830,744
Proportion of current income
Traditional Mixed-Use Industrial Business Parks 57%
Modern Mixed-Used Business Parks 26%
Out of Town Office Buildings 17%
Germany portfolio
Usage type Usage split (%)
Office 34%
Storage 32%
Production 21%
Smartspace 6%
Other 7%

In terms of annualised rent roll (i.e. revenue)?


Germany portfolio
Number of properties (#) Total square metres (000) Occupancy (%) Rate (psm €) Annualised Rent (€m) % of Portfolio By Rent Book Value (€m) Gross yield (%)
Frankfurt 16 370.3 84.1% 6.93 25.9 22.5% 366.0 7.1%
Berlin 4 103.6 96.7% 8.12 9.8 8.5% 166.7 5.9%
Stuttgart 9 331.1 89.8% 5.17 18.4 16.0% 248.5 7.4%
Cologne 7 127.2 87.5% 8.33 11.1 9.7% 158.1 7.0%
Munich 3 123.8 83.9% 8.42 10.5 9.1% 202.8 5.2%
Düsseldorf 15 351.7 76.7% 5.79 18.7 16.3% 250.9 7.5%
Hamburg 4 91.4 83.9% 5.24 4.8 4.2% 64.1 7.5%
Other 10 254.4 78.2% 6.67 15.9 13.7% 196.8 8.1%
Total 68 1,753.5 83.8% 6.53 115.2 100.0% 1,653.9 7.0%
United Kingdom portfolio
Proportion of current income
Industrial Assets 37%
Office Buildings 51%
Mixed Use Assets 12%
United Kingdom portfolio annualised rent roll (£)
Property type Proportion
Office 60%
Workshop 36%
Storage 1%
Other 3%
Annualised Rental Income
Type of Tenant No. of tenants @ Sep 22 Occupied sqft ‘000’s Annualised rent roll £m Rate psft £ Proportion of total in terms of annualised rental income (%)
Top 100 100 952 11.5 12.11 25%
Next 900 900 1,638 19.8 12.11 43%
Rest 2,251 1,087 15.1 13.91 32%
Total 3,251 3,677 46.4 12.64 100%

Board & Management

Non-executive Chairman

Danny Kitchen brings more than 25 years of property and finance experience in both the listed and private markets. After 14 years in corporate finance and M&A with the Investment Bank of Ireland, he was appointed in 1994 as chief finance officer of Green Property PLC, an Irish listed property company. In 2003 he left to join Heron International as group finance director and deputy chief executive. He is currently non- executive chairman of Hibernia REIT plc and was non-executive chairman of Applegreen PLC. Danny was appointed chairman of Irish Nationwide Building Society between 2008 and 2011 and was a Director of the Irish Takeover Panel until 5 June 2020.

Chief Executive Officer

Andrew Coombs joined the Sirius Facilities Group in January 2010. Prior to joining Sirius, Andrew worked for the Regus Group as UK sales director and before that as director and general manager for MWB Business Exchange Plc. Prior to working in the property sector, Andrew held a number of general management roles. Andrew’s responsibilities to Sirius Real Estate include formulating and agreeing the strategy for delivering shareholder value. He is also responsible for running Sirius Facilities GmbH, together with the group of other operating companies owned by Sirius in Germany, and it is through these operating companies that the strategy is ultimately executed.

Chief Investment Officer & Interim CFO

Alistair Marks joined the then external asset manager of Sirius in 2007 from MWB Business Exchange Plc just before the IPO on AIM and has remained with the Group following the management internalisation in January 2012. Prior to MWB Business Exchange, Alistair held financial roles with BBA Group Plc and Pfizer Ltd and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with BDO in Australia. Alistair is responsible for the Company’s banking relationships including restructuring, sourcing and negotiating all terms within the Group’s debt facilities. Alistair will focus on the Group’s investment activity, covering acquisitions, disposals and capex investment programmes, utilising his significant experience in the industrial, office and business parks sector, as well as deep operational experience and expertise to identify and execute on a wide range of opportunities that unlock value for the Group.

Independent Non-Executive Director

James Peggie is a director and co-founder of the Principle Capital Group and prior to that was head of legal and corporate affairs at the Active Value group. He is a qualified solicitor and, before working at Active Value, he worked in the corporate finance division of an international law firm. James graduated from the University of Oxford in 1992 and in 1994 from The College of Law. James has a wealth of experience as a director of various publicly listed and private companies, including Liberty plc from 2006 to 2010.

Independent Non-executive Director

Mark Cherry is a Chartered Surveyor having qualified in 1983 and brings a wealth of Real Estate knowledge in the investment and asset management markets. Mark was a main board director of Green Property PLC for 10 years, dealing with the UK market and left on the sale of the UK portfolio in 2003. Subsequently he held a board level role at Teesland plc, a Fund and Asset manager specialising in small industrial estates with offices throughout Europe, including three in Germany. Mark was asked to join Lloyds Banking Group as the head of asset management within the real estate “bad bank”, where he was responsible for setting up a number of initiatives to optimise recovery proceeds from defaulted loans. He is currently employed by Invesco Asset Management Limited as their advisor to the Real Estate lending team. He holds no further non-executive directorship positions.

Senior Independent Director

Caroline is a Chartered Accountant and was an audit partner at Deloitte LLP from April 2000 to May 2018, having qualified with its predecessor firm Touche Ross & Co. In addition to providing audit and advisory services in the financial services sector, Caroline ran the FTSE 250 Deloitte NextGen CFO programme. Caroline is a non-executive director of Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC and Revolut Limited, at both of which she chairs the audit committees.  Caroline will become the Chair of the Company’s Audit Committee at the close of the Annual General Meeting to be held on 31 July 2020.

Independent Non-executive Director

Kelly is a Chartered Accountant, having qualified in New Zealand in 2001 at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and has worked in real estate in the UK since 2004. She is currently Head of Investment for British Land Co PLC, the FTSE100 REIT, where she has worked for more than nine years, including roles in strategy and corporate finance. Kelly previously held roles in corporate finance at the Grosvenor Group and as a financial analyst at Burberry Group PLC.

Independent Non-executive Director

Joanne Kenrick has had a commercial marketing career spanning over 30 years and has extensive listed, private and charitable board experience. For five years until 2015 she was the marketing and digital director for Homebase, prior to which she was chief executive officer of Start, where she established and oversaw HRH the Prince of Wales’s public facing initiative for a more sustainable future. Joanne’s former roles include marketing and customer proposition director for B&Q and marketing director at Camelot Group plc. She was previously a non-executive director of Principality Building Society for six years, during which time she was also a member of the audit and conduct risk committees. Joanne has a degree in law and started her career at Mars Confectionery and PepsiCo.

Joanne Kenrick is currently a non-executive Director and remuneration committee chair for both Welsh Water and Coventry Building Society, as well as being deputy chair and the senior independent director for the latter; and chair of Switching Services Participant Committee and of PayM for Pay.uk. She is also chair of trustees of the charity Make Some Noise.

Market

Total Addressable Market

Here, the total addressable market (TAM) is defined as the global real estate rental income market, and based on a number of assumptions, it is estimated that the size of the market as of today (23rd November 2022), in terms of revenue, is $2.4 trillion.

The most recent full-year revenue of Sirius is €210 million ($216 million), equating to 0.0090% of the entire global real estate rental income market.

Serviceable Available Market

Here, the serviceable available market (SAM) is defined as the global commercial real estate rental income market, and based on a number of assumptions, it is estimated that the size of the market as of today (23rd November 2022), in terms of revenue, is $1.2 trillion.

Serviceable Obtainable Market

Here, the serviceable obtainable market (SOM) is defined as the Germany commercial real estate rental income market, and based on a number of assumptions, it is estimated that the size of the market as of today (23rd November 2022), in terms of revenue, is $51 billion.

Note, last year, the company moved into the SAM (i.e. the global commercial real estate rental income market), by entering the United Kingdom commercial real estate rental income market, which is estimated, in terms of revenue, at $40 billion.


Introduction

Sirius continues to operate largely in Germany where it owns and manages a well-diversified portfolio of mature business park assets, as well as those where there is an opportunity to add value through asset management. This year the Company also acquired BizSpace, a leading provider of regional flexible workspace across the UK, offering light industrial, workshop, studio and office units to a wide range of businesses. The acquisition complements Sirius’ existing platform and allows for meaningful operational and financial synergies. Sirius’ portfolio in the UK and Germany continues to increase in size through a combination of organic and acquisitive growth underpinned by the Company’s internal operating platform.

In Germany, the primary focus is to build a “critical mass” around its “big seven” cities of: Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich. The Company has a secondary focus on a selection of key border towns where we can reap the benefits of markets on both sides of the border and the periphery of the “big seven” cities. The Company provides in the region of 1.8 million sqm of manufacturing, storage and office space. To maximise the utilisation of space, Sirius has developed a range of high-yielding products including serviced offices, self-storage and workboxes which have their own Smartspace brand and are particularly popular with tenants seeking flexible solutions to their accommodation needs. The products are usually created through investment into space that other owners may regard as a structurally void and then using the capability of the in-house sales and marketing teams to let these at premium rental rates. The Company’s tenant base is diverse ranging from multinational corporations and government agencies to SMEs within the German Mittelstand and individual tenants.

In the UK, BizSpace is a leading provider of regional flexible workspace. Offering office, studio and workshop units to a wide range of businesses in convenient regional locations. The Company provides in the region of 4.3 million sq. ft across 72 sites. The business provides Sirius with a unique opportunity to enter, at scale, an under-served wider UK market with the one-step acquisition of an established platform. Additionally, it provides Sirius with a high-quality portfolio in a supply constrained market and offers significant organic growth potential in rental pricing. BizSpace’s tenant base is similarly diverse, ranging from multinational businesses to manufacturing-focused SMEs and individual tenants.


The German market

Germany remains comfortably the largest economy in the European Union and the fourth largest in the world after the USA, China and Japan. It has maintained its reputation as an industrial powerhouse with a strong export-focused economy characterised by low unemployment. Relative to many other European economies, Germany performed well through the Covid-19 crisis and, notwithstanding the impact of recent events in Ukraine and related economic effects, is projected to grow strongly in 2022. At the time of writing, which was before the material escalation of events in Ukraine, the OECD predicted 4.1% GDP growth in 2022 and a further 2.4% in 2023.[4] It expects a strong potential rebound in manufacturing if supply restraints begin to recede, with interest rates and unemployment projected to remain relatively low. Following more recent events in the Ukraine it is clear forecasts of economic growth will need to be revisited with many commentators pointing to significant inflationary pressure particularly in relation to utilities and the likelihood of interest rate increases.

Commercial real estate transaction volumes in Germany in 2021 were €64.1 billion, according to BNP Paribas; this is the second highest year recorded, which demonstrates remarkable underlying resilience given the disruptive factors the market faced in 2021 such as supply bottlenecks for primary products, the rise in inflation and the ongoing challenges presented by Covid-19 and the conflict in Ukraine. Once again, the majority of sales volume was registered in and around Germany’s seven major cities (Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and Stuttgart), totalling €37.1 billion, exceeding the prior year by 14%. Unsurprisingly Berlin leads the way with €11.2 billion invested, the second highest total on record and up 25% on the previous year. Munich follows with €7.7 billion recorded, up 53% on the previous year. Frankfurt follows in third place with just under €6.7 billion, roughly similar to the previous year. Cologne recorded the strongest growth, up 182% to €3.8 billion. In contrast there were declines on the previous year’s performance in Hamburg at €3.1 billion (-43%) and Düsseldorf at €2.4 billion (-34%). Looking at investment types, offices remained the top performer, with approximately €30.7 billion of investments; around 48% of transaction volume is attributable to this class. Logistics properties followed with a volume of just under €9.9 billion; this is an increase of almost 25% on 2020, setting an all-time high. Foreign investors were responsible for around €24.8 billion of capital investment, around 39% of total investment levels – at a similar level to last year.[5]

Looking closely at economic data examining Germany’s so called “Unternehmensimmobilien” – a distinct asset class of German multi-use and multi-let commercial properties, that is home to the heart of the Germany economy – we can see a strong recovery in the sector in the first half of 2021. A new record was set in H1 with an investment volume of around €2.9 billion, an increase of 87% compared with the previous half year. Some of this activity was likely due to a “catch-up effect” from the previous year’s disruption. Looking at the different categories that make up the Unternehmensimmobilien we can see that business parks are the most in-demand category, accounting for a significant 48% of total volume. Light manufacturing properties are the second most in-demand category, at 23%; notably this is the only property type among the Unternehmensimmobilien that can point to a volume of take-up in the first half of the year that is above the average of the past five years, exceeding it by around 16%. Demand for warehouse properties was much lower, at just 4,000 sqm. Looking at specific sectors more closely we can see that manufacturing remained an extremely important driver of demand for space, demonstrating the robustness of the sector. Accounting for 30% of total take-up, exceeding its average by around 9%. Some clear regional trends emerged in the first half of 2021. Munich and the surrounding area accounted for one-third of the total transaction volume with €934 million. The Rhine-Ruhr conurbation follows, accounting for €378 million in volume, and the West region registered the third highest volume at €375 million.[6] The Unternehmensimmobilien has been resilient as an asset class during past major economic events and recessions and appears to have maintained resilience through Covid-19 too. This is due to multiple factors such as the flexibility and diversity inbuilt within multi-tenanted business parks, the tendency for companies engaged in production and manufacturing to respond to economic contractions by reducing output rather than space and the depth of the Mittelstand market – these factors all contribute to the ongoing growth and stability of the asset class.

The UK market

The UK economy bounced back strongly in 2021 with growth registered at 7.5%, despite falling back in December due to new restrictions to manage the Omicron variant. Prior to the escalation of events in Ukraine, the OECD pointed to the UK economy growing by a further 4.7% in 2022 with business investment set to improve when compared to recent years as the country adapts to the new post-Brexit environment.[7] The OECD pointed to unemployment continuing to fall, and inflation is set to slow, heading back towards the 2% target by the end of 2023. Following more recent events in Ukraine it is clear forecasts of economic growth will need to be revisited, with many commentators pointing to significant inflationary pressure particularly in relation to utilities and the likelihood of interest rate increases.

As a result the prospects for growth in the commercial real estate sector and in the UK regions remain uncertain despite supply constraints due to a lack of land and increased building costs driving rental growth. Looking back to 2021, quarter four of 2021 saw commercial property in the United Kingdom record its best single-quarter total return since quarter four of 2009. A quarterly return of 6.3% drove the rolling annual total return of the MSCI UK Quarterly Property Index to 16.5%, a six year high. However, while previous cyclical upswings saw the main property sectors move in relative unison, the current cycle is largely driven by the strength of industrial property. Of the 16.5% annual index return, 12.9% could be attributed to the industrial sector courtesy of a 36.4% total return. Yield compression was the main driver of industrial outperformance as its equivalent yield effectively halved in ten years as it strengthened to 4.2% at the end of 2021 from 8.4% in quarter four of 2011. The combined impact of a strengthening yield and rental growth saw industrial become the largest sector by value in the Index at 35%, up 2.3x over ten years.[8] In its 2022 cross-sector outlook published prior to the escalation of events in Ukraine and agnostic of the related economic impact, Savills also noted that regional office markets saw upward pressure on pricing in 2021 and it expects this to continue into 2022 and beyond, noting that some regional office markets look undersupplied.[9]


Financials

Most recent half-year results

On 21st November 2022, the company announced its interim results for the period ended 30th September 2022.

During the six month period, revenue increased by 47.7% to €130.6 million (H1 FY2022: €88.4 million), mainly driven by higher rental and service charge. In Germany, like-for-like annualised rent roll improved by 2.4% to €115.2 million (H1 FY2022: €112.5 million), and in the United Kingdom, by 4.1% to €46.5 million (H1 FY2022: €44.7 million). Profit before tax decreased by 3% to €75.7 million (H1 FY2022: €78.2 million).

Net current assets increased by 22% to €67 million (H2 FY2022: €55 million), net asset value improved by 1.8% to €1,213 million (H2 FY2022: €1,191 million). Cash stood at €162 million (H2 FY2022: €151 million) and debt at €993 million (H2 FY2022: €996 million). The value of the company's investment property increased by 0.3% to €2,081.4 million (H2 FY2022: €2,074.9 million).

Cash flows from operating activities increased by 37.5% to €48.1 million (H1 FY2022: €35.0 million), and mainly due to the disposal of properties, cash flows from investing activities was negligible (H1 FY2022: negative €107.5 million). The company's German and UK portfolios saw a respective increase of €20.3 million and £6.3 million, representing a 1.8% and 2.1% like-for-like valuation growth. With no new loans taken during the period. cash flows from financing activities swung to negative €36.5 million (H1 FY2022: positive €194 million). The total dividend per share for the period increased by 32.4% to 2.79 cents (H1 FY2022: 2.04 cents).

Funds From Operations (FFO) increased by 47.0% to €48.5 million (H2 FY2022: €33.0 million).

The company said it continues to expect to trade in-line with consensus and management expectations for the full year.

Given the rising interest rates and the uncertainty that this and the many other factors affecting the German and UK property markets are causing at the moment, the company has prioritised improving its debt ratios and building up its cash reserves. Net LTV, which reduces the loan balance by free cash (excluding restricted cash balances) in its calculation, was 41.0% (FY2022: 41.6%) whilst interest cover at EBITDA level was 8.1x as at 30th September 2022 (FY2022: 7.3x). The group added that it's fully committed to continue reducing its net LTV to be well within 40% or below in the near term.

Most recent full-year results

On 13th June 2022, the company announced its full year results for the year ended 31st March 2022.

During the 12-month period, revenue increased by 27% to €210 million (FY2021: €165 million), and the gain on revaluation of investment properties jumped by 41% to €210 million (FY2021: €165 million); however, mainly due to an impairment charge, higher administrative expenses and interest expenses, the net profit remained more-or-less unchanged at €147 million (FY 2021: €147 million).

In terms of the financial position of the company, the net current assets increased by more than 3x to €55 million (FY 2021: €17 million), and the net asset value (NAV) rose by by 28% to €1.19 billion (FY 2021: €0.93 billion).

Cash flows from operating activities increased by 15% to €82 million (FY2021: €71 million), and mainly due to the acquisition of a subsidiary and purchase of investment properties, cash flows used in investing activities increased by almost 6x to €430 million (FY2021: €74 million). Cash flows from financing activities swung to €431 million (FY2021: negative €54 million), driven by the proceeds of loans and the issue of share capital. The total dividend per share for the year increased by 16% to 4.41 cents (FY2021: 3.80%).

Funds From Operations (FFO) increased by 22.5% to €74.6 million (FY2021: €60.9 million).

Forecasts

What are the assumptions used to estimate the financial forecasts?

Key inputs
Description Value Commentary
Revenue
What's the estimated current size of the total addressable market? $2,400,000,000,000 Here, the total addressable market (TAM) is defined as the global real estate rental income market, and based on a number of assumptions[Note 1], it is estimated that the size of the market as of today (23rd November 2022), in terms of revenue, is $2.4 trillion.
What is the estimated company lifespan? 50 years Research shows that the average lifespan of a large corporation is around 50 years.[10]
What's the estimated annual growth rate of the total addressable market over the lifecycle of the company? 3% Research shows that the growth rate of the global real estate rental income market (i.e. the total addressable market) is similar to the growth rate of global gross domestic product[11], which has averaged (medium) around 3% per year in the last 20 years (2001 to 2022)[12].
What's the estimated company peak market share? 1% Stockhub estimates that especially given the leadership of the company, the peak market share of Sirius is around 1%, and, therefore, suggests using the share amount here. As of 31st March 2022 (i.e. the most recent Sirius full-year results), Sirius's current share of the global real estate rental income market (i.e. the total addressable market) is estimated at around 0.0090% and of the Germany and United Kingdom commercial real estate rental income market is 0.24%.
Which distribution function do you want to use to estimate company revenue? Gaussian Research suggests that the revenue pattern of companies is similar to the pattern produced by the Gaussian distribution function (i.e. the revenue distribution is bell shaped)[13], so Stockhub suggests using that function here.
What's the estimated standard deviation of company revenue? 5 years Another way of asking this question is this way: within how many years either side of the mean does 68% of revenue occur? Based on Sirius' current revenue amount (i.e. $210 million) and Sirius' estimated lifespan (i.e. 50 years) and Sirius' estimated current stage of its lifecycle (i.e. growth stage), the Stockhub company suggests using five years (i.e. 68% of all sales happen within five years either side of the mean year), so that's what's used here.
Growth stages
How many main stages of growth is the company expected to go through? 4 stages Research suggests that a company typically goes through four distinct stages of cash flow growth.[14] Research also shows that incorporating those stages into the discounted cash flow model improves the quality of the model and, ultimately, the quality of the value estimation.[15]


In addition, research shows that a key way to determine the stage which a company is in is by examining the cash flow patterns of the company.[16] A summary of the economic links to cash flow patterns can be found in the appendix of this report. Stockhub estimates that with Sirius operating cash flows positive (+), investing cash flows negative (-) and its financing cash flows positive (+), the company is in the second stage of growth (i.e. the 'growth' stage), and, therefore, it has a total of three main stages of growth. Note, to account for one-off events, the three-year average (median) amount was used to calculate the cash flows.

What proportion of the company lifecycle is represented by growth stage 1? 30% Research suggests 30%.[17]
What proportion of the company lifecycle is represented by growth stage 2? 10% Research suggests 10%.[17]
What proportion of the company lifecycle is represented by growth stage 3? 20% Research suggests 20%.[17]
What proportion of the company lifecycle is represented by growth stage 4? 40% Research suggests 40%.[17]
Growth stage 2
Cost of goods sold as a proportion of revenue (%) 42% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar margin rate as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 2)[18], and the margin for its peers is 42%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Operating expenses as a proportion of revenue (%) 19% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar margin rate as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 2)[18], and the margin for its peers is 19%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Tax rate (%) 12% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar rate as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 2)[18], and the rate for its peers is 12%.
Depreciation and amortisation as a proportion of fixed capital (%) 10% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar margin rate as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 2)[18], and the margin for its peers is 10%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Fixed capital as a proportion of revenue (%) 10% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar amount as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 2)[18], and the amount for its peers is 10%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Working capital as a proportion of revenue (%) 15% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar amount as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 2)[18], and the amount for its peers is 15%.
Net borrowing ($000) Zero Stockhub suggests that for simplicity, the net borrowing figure is zero.
Interest amount ($000) Zero Stockhub suggests that for simplicity, the interest amount figure is zero.
Growth stage 3
Cost of goods sold as a proportion of revenue (%) 62% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar margin rate as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 3)[18], and the margin for its peers is 62%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Operating expenses as a proportion of revenue (%) 13% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar margin rate as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 3)[18], and the margin for its peers is 13%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Tax rate (%) 14% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar rate as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 3)[18], and the rate for its peers is 14%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Depreciation and amortisation as a proportion of revenue (%) 4% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar amount as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 3)[18], and the amount for its peers is 4%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Fixed capital as a proportion of revenue (%) 3% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar amount as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 3)[18], and the amount for its peers is 3%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Working capital as a proportion of revenue (%) 10% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar amount as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 4)[18], and the amount for its peers is 10%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Net borrowing ($000) Zero Stockhub suggests that for simplicity, the net borrowing figure is zero.
Interest amount ($000) Zero Stockhub suggests that for simplicity, the interest amount figure is zero.
Growth stage 4
Cost of goods sold as a proportion of revenue (%) 99% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar margin rate as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 4)[18], and the margin for its peers is 99%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Operating expenses as a proportion of revenue (%) 15% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar margin rate as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 4)[18], and the margin for its peers is 15%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Tax rate (%) 0% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar rate as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 4)[18], and the rate for its peers is 0%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Depreciation and amortisation as a proportion of revenue (%) 37% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar amount as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 4)[18], and the amount for its peers is 37%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Fixed capital as a proportion of revenue (%) 1% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar amount as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 4)[18], and the amount for its peers is 1%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Working capital as a proportion of revenue (%) 10% Research suggests that it's best to use a similar amount as the one used by peers that are in the same growth stage (i.e. growth stage 4)[18], and the amount for its peers is 10%. Information on the peers and the calculation of the figure used here can be found in the appendix of this report.
Net borrowing ($000) Zero Stockhub suggests that for simplicity, the net borrowing figure is zero.
Interest amount ($000) Zero Stockhub suggests that for simplicity, the interest amount figure is zero.
Income statement
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Fiscal Year Ends 31/03/2013 31/03/2014 31/03/2015 31/03/2016 31/03/2017 31/03/2018 31/03/2019 31/03/2020 31/03/2021 31/03/2022
Turnover 46.12 45.07 45.39 55.79 68.79 123.65 140.06 150.01 165.36 210.18
Expenses 22.32 21.54 23.64 23.06 29.74 83.25 85.02 85.95 98.67 121.30
EBITDA -13.44 44.18 46.25 68.93 85.63 98.63 155.10 125.22 175.61 187.50
EBIT -14.47 43.19 45.36 68.30 84.76 97.54 153.73 123.12 173.53 184.33
Operating Profit (reported) 23.80 23.52 21.76 32.73 39.05 40.40 55.04 64.06 66.69 88.88
Operating Profit (adjusted) - - - - - - - - - -
Investment Income -36.98 21.05 26.70 44.17 49.86 60.95 100.50 58.00 104.62 147.20
Exceptional Items -1.19 -1.36 -3.05 -8.54 -4.04 -3.68 -1.70 0.03 -0.50 -13.84
Net Interest -15.10 -12.18 -12.75 -11.29 -8.44 -8.03 -9.12 -11.33 -7.16 -12.41
Pre-tax Profit -29.47 31.03 32.65 57.08 76.44 89.65 144.71 110.77 163.66 168.93
Tax 0.78 2.10 5.65 2.39 9.50 8.29 15.99 12.62 16.10 20.94
Net Profit -30.25 28.93 27.00 54.69 66.94 81.36 128.72 98.15 147.56 147.99
Minority Interests -0.03 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.09 0.07 0.01 0.11 0.12
Profit For Financial Year -30.23 28.93 26.99 54.67 66.91 81.27 128.66 98.14 147.45 147.87
Ordinary Dividends - - - - - - - - - -
Non Equity Dividends - - - - - - - - - -
Retained Profit -30.23 28.93 26.99 54.67 66.91 81.27 128.66 98.14 147.45 147.87
Per Share Data
DPS 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.04
Normalized EPS -0.09 0.07 0.05 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.13 0.09 0.14 0.14
Reported EPS -0.10 0.07 0.05 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.13 0.09 0.14 0.13
Investment Ratios
Operating Margin 0.52 0.52 0.48 0.59 0.57 0.33 0.39 0.43 0.40 0.42
DPS Growth % - - - 0.65 0.53 0.15 0.03 0.08 0.06 0.11
Dividend Cover x 0.00 0.00 21.32 3.86 3.26 56.50 3.22 3.82 2.26 3.93
Norm EPS Growth % - - -0.30 0.59 0.02 0.08 0.43 -0.27 0.48 -0.01
Reported EPS Growth % - - -0.33 0.51 0.11 0.10 0.47 -0.26 0.48 -0.05
Other
Market Cap at B/S Date 61.13 169.09 262.65 332.75 456.45 610.66 648.04 682.89 931.63 1,463.27
Balance sheet
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Fiscal Year Ends 31/03/2013 31/03/2014 31/03/2015 31/03/2016 31/03/2017 31/03/2018 31/03/2019 31/03/2020 31/03/2021 31/03/2022
Assets
Non Current Assets
Intangible 3.74 3.74 3.74 3.74 3.74 3.74 3.74 5.72 6.57 4.28
Tangible 2.54 1.83 1.68 1.94 2.56 3.13 3.44 4.81 4.60 20.49
Investments - - - - - - 0.00 12.31 17.20 24.14
Other - - - - - - 974.68 1,232.93 1,407.15 2,148.33
Total 416.77 446.66 551.04 693.32 733.84 923.27 981.86 1,255.77 1,435.52 2,197.25
Current Assets
Stock - - - - - - - - - -
Debtors 9.44 11.38 9.12 6.68 7.31 7.67 9.43 13.90 17.66 19.93
Cash and Securities 7.72 7.01 10.06 9.02 48.70 64.41 15.95 96.58 49.31 127.29
Total 26.65 27.37 29.66 31.83 62.99 122.92 47.42 136.40 84.48 175.87
Held for Disposal 27.66 2.63 - 0.00 96.00 17.33 164.64 10.10 0.00 13.75
Total Assets 471.08 476.67 580.70 725.15 892.82 1,063.51 1,193.91 1,402.27 1,520.00 2,386.86
Liabilities and Equity
Liabilities
Current 286.17 23.92 30.15 36.07 41.50 51.87 112.13 95.56 67.98 120.48
Non-Current 33.88 226.44 262.28 301.97 356.05 386.01 355.74 504.90 525.20 1,075.33
Total 320.05 250.36 292.44 338.04 397.55 437.88 467.87 600.46 593.17 1,195.81
Equity
Share Capital 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Reserves 151.01 226.28 288.22 387.05 495.19 625.46 725.81 803.09 929.44 1,196.93
Shareholders Funds 151.01 226.28 288.22 387.05 495.19 625.46 725.81 801.57 926.53 1,190.65
Minorities 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.17 0.24 0.25 0.29 0.41
Total 151.03 226.30 288.26 387.11 495.27 625.63 726.05 801.82 926.83 1,191.06
Total Liabilities and Equity 471.08 476.67 580.70 725.15 892.82 1,063.51 1,193.91 1,402.27 1,520.00 2,386.86
Net Borrowings 281.67 217.87 244.72 284.97 293.10 302.66 315.51 402.80 433.74 892.87
Investment Ratios
Net Tangible Asset Value Per Share 46.75 26.48 27.41 37.67 43.62 49.46 56.84 67.15 68.26 71.02
ROCE -7.83 9.54 8.24 9.91 9.96 9.64 14.21 9.42 11.95 8.13
ROE -18.20 15.33 10.49 16.19 15.17 14.51 19.04 12.85 17.07 13.97
Gross Gearing 191.63 99.38 88.40 75.96 69.02 58.69 45.67 62.30 52.13 85.68
Cash 5.11 3.10 3.49 2.33 9.83 10.30 2.20 12.05 5.32 10.69
Interest Cover x -0.97 3.55 3.57 6.09 10.18 12.36 17.05 9.96 17.58 11.97
Quick Ratio r 0.06 0.77 0.64 0.44 1.35 1.39 0.23 1.16 0.99 1.22
Current Ratio r 0.19 1.25 0.98 0.88 3.83 2.70 1.89 1.53 1.24 1.57
Borrowings
Total Borrowings 289.39 224.88 254.78 293.99 341.79 367.08 331.46 499.38 483.04 1,020.15
Due < 1 Yr 258.15 2.81 3.30 5.64 7.07 7.84 7.41 37.59 14.97 20.72
Due 1-2 Yrs - - - - - - - 10.72 75.98 -
Due 2-5 Yrs - - - - - - - 8.44 3.38 8.16
Due > 5 Yrs 31.24 222.07 251.48 288.35 334.72 359.23 324.05 442.63 388.72 991.28
Cash flow
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Fiscal Year Ends 31/03/2013 31/03/2014 31/03/2015 31/03/2016 31/03/2017 31/03/2018 31/03/2019 31/03/2020 31/03/2021 31/03/2022
Operating Cash Flow 22.96 18.72 29.97 37.68 49.95 43.83 54.91 72.80 71.63 85.42
Taxation -0.59 -0.19 -0.55 0.17 -0.02 -0.76 -1.81 -1.46 -0.63 -3.67
Investing Activities 16.81 10.22 -75.70 -100.03 -93.65 -74.07 -67.81 -122.24 -73.53 -429.51
Net Outflow/Inflow 39.18 28.75 -46.29 -62.18 -43.72 -31.00 -14.71 -50.90 -2.54 -347.76
Financing -31.61 -31.72 52.68 61.92 72.54 61.91 -24.62 131.88 -53.05 431.75
Net Change in Cash 7.57 -2.97 6.39 -0.26 28.82 30.91 -39.32 80.98 -55.59 83.99
Foreign Exchange Adjustments - - - - - - - - 0.00 1.30
Opening Balance 9.15 16.72 13.75 20.14 19.87 48.70 79.61 40.28 121.26 65.67
Closing Balance 16.72 13.75 20.14 19.87 48.70 79.61 40.28 121.26 65.67 150.97
Investment Ratios
Cash Flow Per Share 0.07 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.07 0.07 0.07
CAPEX PS 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.02 -0.02 -0.02 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03
Sirius financial forecasts
FY 2022 Act FY 2023 Est FY 2024 Est FY 2025 Est FY 2026 Est
12 Months Ending 03/31/2022 03/31/2023 # 03/31/2024 # 03/31/2025 # 03/31/2026 #
FFO Per Share 0.0815 2 0.0875 2 0.09 1
Revenue 210,182,000 158,333,333.3 3 163,666,666.7 3 169,000,000 3 311,000,000 1
Operating Profit 181,224,000 120,500,000 4 125,500,000 4 130,000,000 4 147,000,000 1
EPS, Adj+ 0.1329 0.0806 5 0.0838 5 0.0845 4 0.097 1
EPS, GAAP 0.1348 0.07 2 0.067666667 3 0.066 1
EBIT 188,164,000 120,500,000 4 125,500,000 4 130,000,000 4 147,000,000 1
EBITDA 190,495,000 92,000,000 3 114,333,333.3 3 129,333,333.3 3 147,000,000 1
Pre-Tax Profit 168,927,000 94,475,000 4 98,575,000 4 101,000,000 3 132,000,000 1
Net Income Adj+ 147,873,000 107,325,000 4 121,350,000 4 126,625,000 4 115,000,000 1
Net Income, GAAP 147,873,000 95,500,000 2 97,950,000 2 120,000,000 2
Net Debt 869,188,000 829,000,000 2 293,333,333.3 3 276,333,333.3 3 935,000,000 1
BPS 1.015775144 1.09 2 1.075 2 1.07 2 1.15 1
CPS 0.077237606 0.064 3 0.065 3 0.065333333 3 0.088 1
DPS 0.0441 0.0538 5 0.0546 5 0.0596 5 0.057 1
Return on Equity (%) 13.96883125 6.99 2 7.88 2 8.02 2 7.56 1
Return on Assets (%) 7.569913544 3.52 1 4.37 1 4.44 1 4.22 1
Depreciation 1164000 4900000 1 4900000 1 4900000 1
Free Cash Flow 54,504,432.62 2 56,568,264.38 2 60,140,167.07 2 63,425,148.26 1
CAPEX -51,450,000 2 -50,250,000 2 -15,555,000 2 -26,000,000 1
Net Asset Value 109,000,000 2 113,500,000 2 121,500,000 2
LTG % 10.1 1
Current multiples
Last 2 Semis Act FY 2023 FY 2024 FY 2025
Price/EPS, Adj+ 11.93 11.5 11.36
Price/Book 0.95 0.89 0.9 0.9
Price/Cash Flow 12.55 15.09 14.86 14.86
Price/FFO 11.78 10.98 10.73
EV/Revenue 9.53 12.66 12.24 11.86
EV/EBITDA 8.89 21.78 17.53 15.5
EV/EBIT 11.06 16.63 15.97 15.42
EV/OPP 11.06 16.63 15.97 15.42
Dividend Yield 5.59 5.69 6.21

Risks

As with any investment, investing in Sirius carries a level of risk. Overall, based on the Sirius' market beta (i.e. 1.06), the degree of risk associated with an investment in Sirius is 'medium'.

Here, to estimate the adjusted beta, we used the iShares MSCI World ETF to represent the market portfolio; and in terms of the time period and frequency of observations, we used five years of monthly data (i.e. 60 observations in total), which is supported by a study and is the most common choice. The beta value in a future period has been found to be on average closer to the mean value of 1.0, and because valuation is forward-looking, it is logical to adjust the raw beta so it more/most accurately predicts a future beta. In addition, here, we have assumed that for an investment to be considered 'medium' risk, it must have a beta value of between 0.5 and 1.5. Further information about the beta ratings can be found in the appendix section of this report.

The key risks that could affect the group's medium-term performance can be found in the table below.[19]

Risk area Principal risk(s)
Financing Availability and pricing of debt
Compliance with loan facility covenants
Availability and pricing of equity capital
Reputational risk
Valuation Property inherently difficult to value
Susceptibility of property market to change in value
Markets Participation within two geographically diverse markets
Reliance on specific industries and the SME market
Reduction in occupancy
Acquisitive growth Decrease in number of acquisition opportunities coming to market
Failure to acquire suitable properties with desired returns
Organic growth Failure to deliver capex investment programmes
Failure to refuel capex investment programmes
Failure to achieve targeted returns from investments
Customer Decline in demand for space
Significant tenant move-outs or insolvencies
Exposure to tenants' inability to meet rental and other lease commitments
Tenant affordability
Regulatory and tax Non-compliance with tax or regulatory obligations
People Inability to recruit and retain people with the appropriate skillset to deliver the Group strategy
Systems and data System failures and loss of data
Security breaches
Data protection
Macro-economic Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic
Inflationary pressure leading to increased costs
Interest rate movements impacting the commercial real estate market
Delays in cash collection and tenant insolvencies
Energy supply shortages caused by a variety of economic and geopolitical factors
ESG Unforeseen costs relating to physical and transition risks associated with climate change
Reputational risk
Failure to meet shareholder and societal requirements or expectations
Restricted access to financing market due to higher requirements ("green financing")
Foreign currency Financial impact of uncontrollable foreign currency fluctuation on earnings and net asset value

Valuation

What's the expected return of an investment in the company?

Stockhub estimates that the expected return of an investment in the company over the next five years is negative xxx%. In other words, an £1,000 investment in the company is expected to return £xxx in five years time. The assumptions used to estimate the return figure can be found in the table below.

Assuming that a suitable return level over five years is 10% per year and Sirius Real Estate Limited achieves its expected return level (of negative xxx%), then an investment in the company is considered to be an 'xxx' one.

What are the assumptions used to estimate the return?

Key inputs
Description Value Commentary
Which valuation model do you want to use? Discounted cash flow There are two main approaches to estimate the value of an investment:
  1. By calculating the present value of the investment's expected future cash flows (i.e. discounted cash flow valuation); and
  2. By comparing the investment to other similar investments (i.e. relative valuation).

Research suggests that in terms of estimating the expected return of an investment over a period of 12-months or more, the approach that is more accurate is the discounted cash flow approach[20], so that's the approach that Stockhub suggests to use here; nevertheless, for completeness purposes, separately, the valuation of the company is also estimated using the using the relative valuation approach (the valuation based on the relative approach can be found in the appendix of this report).

Which financial forecasts to use? Stockhub The only available long-term forecasts (i.e. >15 years) are the ones that are supplied by the Stockhub company (the forecasts can be found in the financials section of this report), so Stockhub suggests using those.
Growth stage 2
Discount rate (%) 15% There are two key risk parameters for a firm that need to be estimated: its cost of equity and its cost of debt. A key way to estimate the cost of equity is by looking at the beta (or betas) of the company in question, the cost of debt from a measure of default risk (an actual or synthetic rating) and apply the market value weights for debt and equity to come up with the cost of capital.
Probability of success (%) 90% Research suggests that a suitable rate for a company in this growth stage (i.e. stage 2) is 90%.
Growth stage 3
Discount rate (%) 10% There are two key risk parameters for a firm that need to be estimated: its cost of equity and its cost of debt. A key way to estimate the cost of equity is by looking at the beta (or betas) of the company in question, the cost of debt from a measure of default risk (an actual or synthetic rating) and apply the market value weights for debt and equity to come up with the cost of capital.
Probability of success (%) 100% Research suggests that a suitable rate for a company in this growth stage (i.e. stage 3) is 100%.
Growth stage 4
Discount rate (%) 10% There are two key risk parameters for a firm that need to be estimated: its cost of equity and its cost of debt. A key way to estimate the cost of equity is by looking at the beta (or betas) of the company in question, the cost of debt from a measure of default risk (an actual or synthetic rating) and apply the market value weights for debt and equity to come up with the cost of capital.
Probability of success (%) 100% Research suggests that a suitable rate for a company in this growth stage (i.e. stage 4) is 100%.
Other key inputs
What's the current value of the company? £981.20 million As at 22nd November 2022, the current value of Sirius Real Estate Limited is £981.20 million.
Which time period do you want to use to estimate the expected return? Between now and five years time Research suggests that following a market crash, the average amount of time it takes for the price of a stock market to return to its pre-crash level (i.e. the recovery period) is at least three years.[21] Accordingly, Stockhub suggests that to account for general market cyclicity, it's best to estimate the expected return of the company between now and five years time.

Sensitive analysis

The main inputs that result in the greatest change in the expected return of the Sirius Real Estate Limited investment are, in order of importance (from highest to lowest):

  1. The size of the total addressable market (the default size is $xxx trillion);
  2. Sirius Real Estate Limited peak market share (the default share is xxx%); and
  3. The discount rate (the default time-weighted average rate is xxx%).

The impact of a 50% change in those main inputs to the expected return of the Sirius Real Estate Limited investment is shown in the table below.

Sirius investment expected return sensitive analysis
Main input 10% worse Unchanged 10% better
The size of the total addressable market
Sirius Real Estate Limited peak market share
The discount rate

Appendix

Absolute valuation approach

The average cap rate for commercial properties can vary widely depending on the location, property type, and market conditions. In the United Kingdom and Germany, the average cap rate for commercial properties is typically in the range of 5-7%, according to ChatGPT.

In the United Kingdom, the average cap rate for commercial properties in prime locations, such as central London, is typically lower, in the range of 3-5%, due to the high demand for real estate in these areas. In secondary markets, the average cap rate may be higher, in the range of 7-9%.

In Germany, the average cap rate for commercial properties, with prime locations such as central Berlin or Munich having lower cap rates, in the range of 4-6%. In other regions, the average cap rate may be higher, in the range of 6-8%.

We note that the current cap rate of Sirius is 6.8%, which is on the high-end of the for commercial properties in the United Kingdom and Germany (5-7%).

In the company's most recent full-year results (i.e. the 12-month period ended 31st March 2022), net operating income was €122.5 million. In the company's most half-year results (i.e. the 12-month period ended 30th September 2022), net operating income was €73.2 million, equating to an annualised income of €146.4 million.


Net yield against net operating income
5.00% 6.00% 7.00% 8.00% 9.00% 10.00%
120.0 2,400 2,000 1,714 1,500 1,333 1,200
125.0 2,500 2,083 1,786 1,563 1,389 1,250
130.0 2,600 2,167 1,857 1,625 1,444 1,300
135.0 2,700 2,250 1,929 1,688 1,500 1,350
140.0 2,800 2,333 2,000 1,750 1,556 1,400
145.0 2,900 2,417 2,071 1,813 1,611 1,450
150.0 3,000 2,500 2,143 1,875 1,667 1,500
155.0 3,100 2,583 2,214 1,938 1,722 1,550
160.0 3,200 2,667 2,286 2,000 1,778 1,600
165.0 3,300 2,750 2,357 2,063 1,833 1,650
170.0 3,400 2,833 2,429 2,125 1,889 1,700


ccc

Relative valuation approach

As noted earlier in this report, research suggests that in terms of estimating the expected return of an investment over a period of 12-months or more, the approach that is more accurate is the discounted cash flow approach, so that's the approach that Stockhub suggests using to determine the estimated value of the company (the valuation based on the discounted cash flow approach can be found in the valuation section of this report); nevertheless, for completeness purposes, separately, the valuation of the company is also estimated using the relative valuation approach.

What's the expected return of an investment in Sirius using the relative valuation approach?

Accordingly, Stockhub estimates that the expected return of an investment in Sirius Real Estate Limited over the next five years is xxx. In other words, an £1,000 investment in the company is expected to return £xxx in five years time. The assumptions used to estimate the return figure can be found in the table below.

Assuming that a suitable return level over five years is 10% per year and Sirius Real Estate Limited achieves its expected return level (of xxx), then an investment in the company is considered to be a 'xxx' one.

What are the assumptions used to estimate the return figure?

Key inputs
Description Value Commentary
Which type of multiple do you want to use? P/AFFO The value of real estate typically appreciates, rather than depreciates; furthermore, REIT property sales and capital expenditure tends to result in material differences in the profitable of the REIT across its lifespan. Accordingly, Stockhub suggests valuing the company using the Price to Adjusted Funds From Operations (P/AFFO) ratio, which is calculated by adding amortization and depreciation to the net income and then deducting the gains on the sale of properties and capital expenditure.
Which financial forecasts to use? Stockhub The only available medium-term forecasts (i.e. five years from now) are the ones that are supplied by the Stockhub company (the forecasts can be found in the financials section of this report), so Stockhub suggests using those.
In regards to the P/AFFO multiple, for the AFFO figure, which year to you want to use? Year 5 Stockhub suggests that to account for general market cyclicity, it's best to use five years from now (i.e. Year 5).
In regards to the P/AFFO multiple, what multiple figure do you want to use? 15x In Stockhub's view, Sirius Real Estate Limited closest peer is xxx. xxx trades on a multiple of xxx.
Which financial forecasts to use? Stockhub The only available forecasts are the ones that are supplied by the Stockhub company (the forecasts can be found in the financials section of this report), so Stockhub suggests using those.
What's the current value of the Stockhub company? £981.20 million As at 22nd November 2022, the current value of its company at £981.20 million.
Which time period do you want to use to estimate the expected return? Between now and five years time Research suggests that following a market crash, the average amount of time it takes for the price of a stock market to return to its pre-crash level (i.e. the recovery period) is at least three years.[21] Accordingly, Stockhub suggests that to account for general market cyclicity, it's best to estimate the expected return of the company between now and five years time.

Sensitive analysis

The two main inputs that result in the greatest change in the expected return of the Sirius Real Estate Limited investment are, in order of importance (from highest to lowest):

  1. The P/AFFO multiple (the default multiple is 15x); and
  2. The Year-five AFFO forecast (the default forecast is $xxx million); and

The impact of a 10% change in those main inputs to the expected return of the Sirius Real Estate Limited investment is shown in the table below.

Sirius investment expected return sensitive analysis
Main input 10% worse Unchanged 10% better
The P/AFFO multiple
The Year-five AFFO forecast

Appendix

Cost of equity (%)
Input Input value Additional information
Risk-free rate (%) 3.779 Here, the risk free rate is the US 30 year treasury bond, and is calculated as at GMT 12:25 on 10th February 2023. Research suggests that for the risk-free rate, it's best to use one that has the same or similar maturity to the estimated remaining lifespan of the company. Here, we have assumed that the estimated lifespan of the company is 50 years, so we have used the longest maturity, which is 30 years.
Beta 1.06 Here, to estimate the adjusted beta, we used the iShares MSCI World ETF to represent the market portfolio; and in terms of the time period and frequency of observations, we used five years of monthly data (i.e. 60 observations in total), which is supported by a study and is the most common choice. The beta value in a future period has been found to be on average closer to the mean value of 1.0, and because valuation is forward-looking, it is logical to adjust the raw beta so it more/most accurately predicts a future beta.
Equity risk premium (%) 7.98 Research suggests that for the region of equity risk premium, it's best to use one that is the same or similar to the region of the beta market portfolio. Here, the region of the beta market portfolio is the world/global, so we have used the world/global region for the equity risk premium, and is calculated as at 5th January 2023.
Cost of equity (%) 12.24 Cost of equity = Risk-free rate + Beta x Equity risk premium.
Adjusted Funds From Operations calculation
Item 2021 2022 2023E 2024E 2025E 2026E 2027E
Funds From Operations (€'million) 60.9 74.6 97.0 102.0 108.8
Capital expenditure (€'million) 31.1 23.8 24.0 24.0 24.0
Adjusted Funds From Operations (€'million) 29.8 50.8 76.0

Sirius Real Estate Limited peer(s)

Valuation table
Investments Primary exchange Classification Industry Market capitalisation (£) P/FFO P/AFFO Yield (%)
Sirius Real Estate Limited United Kingdom Multi Asset Class Own & Develop Real Estate Owners & Developers £996 million 11.6x 4.39%
FastPartner AB Sweden Multi Asset Class Own & Develop Real Estate Owners & Developers £1,150 million 2.99%
Cibus Nordic Real Estate Sweden Multi Asset Class Own & Develop Real Estate Owners & Developers £577 million 6.84%
Intershop Holding AG Switzerland Multi Asset Class Own & Develop Real Estate Owners & Developers £1,020 million 4.08%
Metrovacesa SA Spain Multi Asset Class Own & Develop Real Estate Owners & Developers £928 million 26.9x 14.02%
WCM Beteiligungs- und G Germany Multi Asset Class Own & Develop Real Estate Owners & Developers £493 million 2.89%
Brack Capital Properties Italy Multi Asset Class Own & Develop Real Estate Owners & Developers £658 million
TLG Immobilien AG Germany Multi Asset Class Own & Develop Real Estate Owners & Developers £1,830 million 5.00%
GAG Immobilien AG Germany Multi Asset Class Own & Develop Real Estate Owners & Developers £1,130 million 0.63%
Gateway Real Estate AG Germany Multi Asset Class Own & Develop Real Estate Owners & Developers £535 million
VGP Belgium Multi Asset Class Own & Develop Real Estate Owners & Developers £1,350 million 9.08%
Sirius Real Estate Limited peers
Peer Three-year average COGS margin (%) Three-year average SG&A margin (%) Three-year average tax margin (%) Three-year average depreciation rate (%) Three-year average fixed capital margin (%) Three-year average change in working capital ($000) Three-year average growth stage Discount rate (WACC, %)
FastPartner AB 20.56% 20% Stage two 5.38%
Cibus Nordic Real Estate 13.47% 1% Stage two 5.01%
Intershop Holding AG 22.99% 14% Stage two/three 3.79%
Metrovacesa SA 22.19% NA Stage two/three 8.72%
WCM Beteiligungs- und G 32.64% 20% Stage two/three 5.66%
Brack Capital Properties 25.13% 11% Stage two/three 2.15%
TLG Immobilien AG 24.44% 202% 5.84%
GAG Immobilien AG 16.91% 73.74% 4.89%
VGP 14.90% Stage one 7.43%
Gateway Real Estate AG 22.03% Stage two/three 3.61%
Sirius Real Estate Limited 43% 15% 1% 11% 20% Stage two/three 4.39%
Growth stage
Growth stage Three-year average COGS margin (%) Three-year average SG&A margin (%) Three-year average tax margin (%) Three-year average depreciation rate (%) Three-year average fixed capital margin (%) Three-year average change in working capital ($000) Discount rate
One
Two
Three
Four


Dividend

Since the company started issuing dividends (i.e. around seven years ago), the median dividend growth rate is 8%, and the mean is 46%. The constant/fixed rate dividend rate is 36%; in other words, if the company had grown its dividend during that period at a rate that is constant (rather than variable), then the rate would be 36%.

Dividend
Financial year Interim (cents) Full-year (cents) Total (cents) Growth
2023 2.70 N/A 2.70 N/A
2022 1.98 2.37 4.35 12.69%
2021 1.82 2.04 3.86 8.12%
2020 1.77 1.80 3.57 6.25%
2019 1.63 1.73 3.36 6.33%
2018 1.56 1.60 3.16 127.34%
2017 1.39 0.00 1.39 -37.39%
2016 0.92 1.30 2.22 188.31%
2015 0.77 0.00 0.77 NA


Notes

Calculation(s)

Currently, global real estate rental income accounts for an estimated 2.5% of the world's gross domestic product. Global GDP is estimated at $96.1 trillion. Accordingly, the size of the global real estate rental income market as of today (23rd November 2022), in terms of revenue, is $2.4 trillion.

Global commercial real estate rental income accounts around 1.25% of the world's gross domestic product. Global GDP is estimated at $96.1 trillion. Accordingly, the size of the global commercial real estate rental income market as of today (23rd November 2022), in terms of revenue, is $1.2 trillion.

Germany commercial real estate rental income accounts for around 1.25% of Germany gross domestic product. Germany GDP is estimated at $4.1 trillion. Accordingly, the size of the Germany commercial real estate rental income market as of today (23rd November 2022), in terms of revenue, is $51 billion.

United Kingdom rental income accounts for around 2.5% of the country's gross domestic product. UK GDP is estimated at $3.2 trillion. Accordingly, the size of the United Kingdom commercial real estate rental income market as of today (23rd November 2022), in terms of revenue, is $40 billion.

Investment risk

Research shows that an investment has two main types of risks: 1) non-systematic and 2) systematic. Systematic risk is the risk related to the overall market, and non-systematic risk is the risk that's specific to an individual investment. Evidence shows that taking on non-systematic risk is inefficient, and it's, therefore, best to eliminate it; and in most cases, elimination is fairy easy to do [by holding a diversified portfolio of investments (i.e. around 15 investments)]. Accordingly, when assessing the riskiness of an investment, it’s best to look at the systematic risk only (i.e. ignore the non-systematic risk). A key measure of systematic risk is beta, and a main way to determine the riskiness of an investment is to compare the beta of the investment with the beta of the market, which is 1. Sirius' beta is 1.06, and is, accordingly, 6% above the market beta (of 1); assuming that a 'low' level of riskiness is less than 10% below the market beta, then the riskiness of investing in Sirius considered to be 'low' (6%>10%).


Top 10 Shareholders
Shareholders Shares (m) Holding (%)
BlackRock 122.3 10.4%
abrdn 103.7 8.8%
Cohen & Steers 58.8 5.0%
Vanguard Group 55.2 4.7%
Columbia Threadneedle Investments 48.7 4.1%
Public Investment Corporation (PIC) 47.8 4.1%
Louis Norval 29.9 2.5%
SSGA 29.9 2.5%
Lazard Asset Management 25.9 2.2%
Truffle Asset Management 25.3 2.2%
Total Top 10 Shareholders 546.4 46.5%
Total Shares in Circulation 1,175.1 100.0%

Sirius staff and directors hold 26.4m (2.25%) shares.

Risk rating

Risk rating
Rating Beta
Low Equal to or below 0.5
Medium Between 0.5 and 1.5
High Equal to or above 1.5

Economic links to cash flow patterns

Economic links to cash flow patterns
Cash flow type Introduction Growth Shake out Mature Decline
Operating - + +/- + -
Investing - - +/- - +
Financing + + +/- - +/-

Glossary

An alphabetical list of terms and their definitions commonly used by Sirius.

Adjusted earnings: is the earnings attributable to the owners of the Company, excluding the effect of adjusting items net of related tax, gains/losses on sale of properties net of related tax, the revaluation deficits/surpluses on the investment properties (also to associates) net of related tax, profits and losses on disposals of properties net of related tax, changes in fair value of derivative financial instruments net of related tax, gain on loss of control of subsidiaries net of related tax, finance restructuring costs net of related tax and adjustment on revaluation expense relating to leased investment properties.

Adjusted net asset value: is the assets attributable to the equity owners of the Company adjusted for derivative financial instruments and deferred tax arising on revaluation gain, financial derivative instruments and LTIP valuation.

Adjusted profit before tax: is the reported profit before tax adjusted for gain on revaluation of investment properties, gains/ losses on sale of properties, changes in fair value of derivative financial instruments, other adjusting items, gain on loss of control of subsidiaries, revaluation gain on investment property relating to associates and adjustment on revaluation in respect to IFRS 16.

Annualised acquisition net operating income: is the income generated by a property less directly attributable costs at the date of acquisition expressed in annual terms. Please see “annualised rent roll” definition below for further explanatory information.

Annualised acquisition rent roll: is the contracted rental income of a property at the date of acquisition expressed in annual terms. Please see “annualised rent roll” definition below for further explanatory information.

Annualised rent roll: is the contracted rental income of a property at a specific reporting date expressed in annual terms. Unless stated otherwise the reporting date is 31 March 2020. Annualised rent roll should not be interpreted nor used as a forecast or estimate. Annualised rent roll differs from rental income described in note 5 of the Annual Report and reported within revenue in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income for reasons including:

  • annualised rent roll represents contracted rental income at a specific point in time expressed in annual terms;
  • rental income as reported within revenue represents rental income recognised in the period under review; and
  • rental income as reported within revenue includes accounting adjustments including those relating to lease incentives.

Capital value: is the market value of a property divided by the total sqm of a property.

Cumulative total return: is the return calculated by combining the movement in investment property value net of capex with the total net operating income less bank interest over a specified period of time.

EPRA earnings: is earnings after adjusting for property revaluation, changes in fair value of derivative financial instruments, profits and losses on disposals (collectively the “EPRA earnings adjustments”), the gain on loss of control of subsidiaries, finance restructuring costs, revaluation gain on investment property relating to associates, the resulting tax adjustments and deferred tax in respect of these EPRA earnings adjustments.

EPRA net asset value: is the net asset value after adjusting for derivative financial instruments and deferred tax relating to valuation movements and derivatives.

EPRA net reinstatement value: is the net asset value after adjusting for derivative financial instruments, deferred tax relating to valuation movements and derivatives and real estate transfer tax presented in the Valuation Certificate, including the amounts of the above related to the investment in associates.

EPRA net tangible assets: is the net asset value after adjusting for derivative financial instruments, deferred tax relating to valuation movements (just for the part of the portfolio that the Company intend to hold should be excluded) and derivatives, goodwill and intangible assets as per the statement of financial position, including the amounts of the above related to the investment in associates.

EPRA net disposal value: is the net asset value after adjusting for goodwill as per the statement of financial position and the fair value of fixed interest rate debt.

EPRA net initial yield: is the annualised rent roll based on the cash rents passing at the balance sheet date, less non-recoverable property operating expenses, divided by the market value of the property, increased with (estimated) purchasers’ costs.

EPRA net yield: is the net operating income generated by a property expressed as a percentage of its value plus purchase costs.

Funds from operations: is adjusted profit before tax adjusted for depreciation and amortisation (excluding depreciation relating to IFRS 16), amortisation of financing fees, adjustment in respect to IFRS 16 and current tax excluding prior year adjustments and tax on disposals.

Geared IRR: is an estimate of the rate of return taking into consideration debt.

Gross loan to value ratio: is the ratio of principal value of total debt to the aggregated value of investment property.

Like for like: refers to the manner in which metrics are subject to adjustment in order to make them directly comparable. Like-for-like adjustments are made in relation to annualised rent roll, rate and occupancy and eliminate the effect of asset acquisitions and disposals that occur in the reporting period.

Net loan to value ratio: is the ratio of principal value of total debt less cash, excluding that which is restricted, to the aggregate value of investment property.

Net operating income: is the rental and other income from investment properties generated by a property less directly attributable costs.

Net yield: is the net operating income generated by a property expressed as a percentage of its value.

Occupancy: is the percentage of total lettable space occupied as at reporting date.

Operating cash flow on investment (geared): is an estimate of the rate of return based on operating cash flows and taking into consideration debt.

Operating cash flow on investment (ungeared): is an estimate of the rate of return based on operating cash flows.

Rate: is rental income per sqm expressed on a monthly basis as at a specific reporting date.

Total debt: is the aggregate amount of the Company’s interest-bearing loans and borrowings.

Total shareholder accounting return: is the return obtained by a shareholder calculated by combining both movements in adjusted NAV per share plus dividends paid.

Total return: is the return for a set period of time combining valuation movement and income generated.

Ungeared IRR: is an estimate of the rate of return.

Weighted average cost of debt: is the weighted effective rate of interest of loan facilities expressed as a percentage.

Weighted average debt expiry: is the weighted average time to repayment of loan facilities expressed in years.


References and notes

  1. “Big seven” German markets identified as Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Cologne and Stuttgart.
  2. Gross yield is the return on investment before taking into account expenses such as property management, maintenance, insurance, taxes, and other operating costs. It is calculated as the annual rental income divided by the property's purchase price or current market value. For example, if a rental property generates $12,000 per year in rental income and its purchase price is $100,000, the gross yield would be 12,000 / 100,000 = 0.12 or 12%.
  3. Net yield takes into account all operating expenses associated with the property. It is calculated as the annual rental income minus all expenses divided by the property's purchase price or market value. For example, if a rental property generates $12,000 per year in rental income, and the expenses associated with the property total $4,000 per year, the net yield would be (12,000 - 4,000) / 100,000 = 0.08 or 8%.
  4. https://www.oecd.org/economy/united-kingdom-economic-snapshot/
  5. https://www.commercialsearch.com/news/uk-industrial-propertysurged-in-2021-as-median-total-return-topped-30/.
  6. https://www.savills.com/research_articles/255800/323301-0
  7. https://www.oecd.org/economy/germany-economic-snapshot/
  8. https://www.realestate.bnpparibas.de/en/market-reports/ investment-market/germany-at-a-glance.
  9. https://initiative.bulwiengesa.de/unternehmensimmobilien/sites/default/files/2021-11/IUI_Marktbericht15_20211109.pdf
  10. Stadler, Enduring Success, 3–5.
  11. http://www.robertpicard.net/files/econgrowthandadvertising.pdf
  12. https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/WLD/world/gdp-growth-rate
  13. http://escml.umd.edu/Papers/ObsCPMT.pdf
  14. Levie J, Lichtenstein BB (2010) A terminal assessment of stages theory: Introducing a dynamic approach to entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice 34(2): 317–350. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2010.00377.x
  15. Stef Hinfelaar et al.:, 2019.
  16. Dickinson, 2010.
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 http://escml.umd.edu/Papers/ObsCPMT.pdf
  18. 18.00 18.01 18.02 18.03 18.04 18.05 18.06 18.07 18.08 18.09 18.10 18.11 18.12 18.13 18.14 18.15 18.16 18.17 http://people.stern.nyu.edu/adamodar/pdfiles/papers/younggrowth.pdf
  19. Sirius Real Estate Limited.
  20. Demirakos et al., 2010; Gleason et al., 2013
  21. 21.0 21.1 https://www.newyorkfed.org/mediabrary/media/medialibrary/media/research/staff_reports/research_papers/9809.pdf


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