Wrap Text
Hammerson plc – Full Year 2024 Results
Hammerson plc
(Incorporated in England and Wales)
(Company number 360632)
LSE and Euronext Dublin share code: HMSO JSE share code: HMN
ISIN: GB00BRJQ8J25
("Hammerson" or "the Company")
HAMMERSON plc – FULL YEAR 2024 RESULTS
2024: A transformative year, re-positioned to drive growth
Hammerson is the largest UK-listed, pure-play owner and manager of prime retail and leisure anchored city destinations
across the UK, France and Ireland.
We own, manage and invest in landmark city destinations integrating retail, leisure and community hubs to meet evolving
customer and occupier needs while delivering sustainable long-term growth for our stakeholders. Our 10 city locations
rank in the top 20 of all retail venues across our geographies and in the top 1% where retail spend is concentrated. Our
catchment reach of 40 million people attracts 170 million visitors per annum, generating £3 billion of sales for our brand
partners.
Rita-Rose Gagné, Chief Executive of Hammerson, commented:
"Following a transformative and successful year for Hammerson, we enter 2025 as a repositioned business. In landing
the pivotal sale of Value Retail and completing our non-core disposals, we have generated £1.5bn of cash proceeds over
the last four years, materially strengthening our capital structure, and enabling investment for growth in our high-quality
portfolio.
We have strategically realigned the business to benefit from structural market trends. First, cities are engines of economic
growth, and we have concentrated our portfolio on exceptional assets in some of Europe's fastest growing and most
vibrant cities. Second, the flight to quality where occupiers want fewer and more productive stores in only these locations,
enables us to attract leading global and local brand partners. Third, the physical experience has become more relevant
for consumers and our brand partners, with at least 80% of all retail transactions touching a store.
Investment in our destinations and our unique and specialist platform provides data-driven insights to curate the right
product, placemaking and mix of brands. This platform is scalable and agile, driving tangible benefits with higher
occupancy, leasing, footfall and sales above national benchmarks, whilst growing our catchment and market share.
There is more to come.
We are confident in our strategy and optimistic about the opportunity ahead for Hammerson. We continue to maintain a
tight operational grip and are poised to deliver significant revenue and underlying earnings growth, with the full impact of
our ongoing investments and acquisitions yet to be realised."
Highlights
Another record year of leasing, 56% ahead previous passing rents and 13% over ERV
– Occupancy improved to over 95%, with few leasable units in most locations, driving rental tension across our portfolio
– 262 leases signed on 1m ft2 of space generating annual headline rent of £41m (£24m at share), another record
performance on a like-for-like basis
– 956 principal leases secured since FY20, totalling £156m of annual rent at 100% at an average of 32% ahead of
previous passing rent and 4% above ERV – c.50% of space let on new terms since FY20 and £1.1bn of rent
contracted to first break. All geographies in positive reversion, with further opportunities ahead of us
– Occupier demand is robust with £8.6m of headline income already exchanged in 2025, 10% above previous passing
rent and 11% ahead of ERV – good visibility and a strong pipeline for the remainder of 2025, underpinning our
confidence in the outlook
Our destinations are thriving with footfall and sales ahead of national benchmarks
– Black Friday, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve all saw year-on-year increases of 10-12% for all our flagship
destinations – Westquay had 112,000 visitors on the Saturday of Black Friday weekend, its highest number since
November 2017
– We had good footfall momentum in the final quarter, reflecting new openings and seasonal events, with UK footfall up
17% quarter-on-quarter, Ireland 16% and France 5%
– We hosted 170m visitors at our destinations (+600k). Excluding assets in repositioning, footfall was up 2% (+2.5m)
year-on-year across the Group(1), with the UK up 2%, France up 4% and Ireland up 1%. All ahead of national
benchmarks
– Sales up 5%(1)(2) in the UK and 3% in France, with brand partners benefiting from our combined investments, new
concepts and upsized stores
– Anchor brand partners consistently report that their new store formats trade in the top five sales performers across
their UK and European portfolios
Investment and capital recycling to drive future growth and value creation
– Investment in Bullring and Dundrum generated £184m of rent contracted to first break (including £87m in 2024), and
a total of more than £250m since FY20 benefiting from halo effect of repositioning
– The repositioning of Cabot Circus and The Oracle in 2024 has already secured £52m of rent contracted to first
break. Our investments will see marquee openings in 2025 such as M&S and Odeon at Cabot Circus, and
Hollywood Bowl and TK Maxx at The Oracle
– Total property returns were +2.1%, with flagship destinations +2.9%
– Valuations increasingly reflecting successful investment with the UK up 4.2% and France up 1.5%, driven by higher
contracted rental income, related ERV growth and some yield compression. Valuations in Ireland were down 13%
due to outward yield shift, although yields stabilised in Q4
– Having crystallised €705m (£595m) of cash proceeds from Value Retail in September at an exit yield of 3.4%, we
rapidly recycled £135m to gain 100% control of Westquay at a significantly more attractive yield – we continue to
see opportunities for JV consolidation and several discussions are ongoing
Our relentless focus on efficiency and investment in data has delivered a further 16% cost reduction
– Gross administration costs down 16% year-on-year, ahead of guidance of 10%; a total reduction of 36% since FY20
– Our investments in data and analytics enable us to better understand our catchments and to continually evolve and
curate our estates to meet changing consumer and occupier needs to maximise the value of our physical and media
assets. We are accelerating the roll out of AI tools in 2025
– Today, we have a specialist, data-driven and efficient platform that is scalable and delivering operational gearing as
we grow rental income and AUM
FY24 financial summary
– Reported like-for-like GRI up 1.6% year-on-year; reported like-for-like NRI -0.5% reflecting ongoing extensive
repositioning in the UK
– Underlying(1) like for like GRI +3.0%, with up to 7% growth from assets benefitting from recent investments,
underlying like-for-like NRI +0.2%
– Adjusted earnings of £99m (FY23: £116m), reflecting impact of disposals. Adjusted EPS 19.9p (FY23: 23.4p)
– IFRS loss of £526m (FY23: (£51m loss), reflecting £497m Value Retail impairment and H124 revaluation loss
– One of the strongest balance sheets in the sector, with net debt down 40% year-on-year to £799m. Resulting Net
debt:EBITDA of 5.8x (FY23: 8.0x) and LTV of 30% (FY23: 34%), reflected in credit improvements from Moody's and
Fitch in the second half
– Closing portfolio value of £2.7bn, AUM £4bn. EPRA NTA per share 370p (HY24: 382p)
Dividend
– Recommended final dividend of 8.07p per share for 2024 in line with the Board's new policy of 80-85% of Adjusted
earnings. The full year dividend is 15.63p, up 4%. The dividend recommendation will be released as a separate
announcement
FY25 outlook
We had a strong finish to 2024 in terms of footfall, sales, leasing and redeployment of capital, which has continued into
2025. We will see marquee openings in Cabot Circus and The Oracle as we bring major new uses to each of these
assets, matching our experiences and building momentum at Bullring and Dundrum. We have already secured £8.6m of
leases in 2025, the pipeline is robust, and discussions are progressing on other acquisitions.
The organic growth from investments will flow to the bottom line benefiting from the operational gearing from our
specialist data-driven platform.
We have strong momentum. Notwithstanding the uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment, our portfolio is well
positioned to drive rental growth and earnings from the high demand for scarce, relevant space where brands are
consolidating.
(1) Excluding Cabot Circus and The Oracle where 30-40% of the space is being repurposed
(2) Source: Lloyds Bank data
Results presentation today:
Hammerson will hold a virtual presentation for analysts and investors to present its financial results for the twelve months
ended 31 December 2024, followed by a Q&A session.
Date & time: Wednesday 26 February at 09.00 am (GMT)
Webcast link: https://www.netroadshow.com/events/login?show=d4a1736f&confId=77522
Conference call: Quote Hammerson when prompted by the operator, access code 157450
Please join the call five minutes before the booked start time to allow the operator to transfer you into the call by the
scheduled start time
France: +33 9 7073 3958
Ireland: +353 1 691 7842
Netherlands: +31 85 888 7233
South Africa: +27 87 550 8441
UK: +44 20 3936 2999
USA: +1 646 233 4753
The presentation and press release will be available at: https://www.hammerson.com/investors/reports-results-
presentations on the morning of results.
Enquiries:
Rita-Rose Gagné, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +44 (0)20 7887 1000
Himanshu Raja, Chief Financial Officer Tel: +44 (0)20 7887 1000
Investors:
Josh Warren, Director of Strategy, Commercial Finance and IR Tel: +44 (0)20 7887 1053 josh.warren@hammerson.com
Media:
Oliver Hughes, Ollie Hoare and Charles Hirst, MHP Tel: +44 (0)20 3128 8100 Hammerson@mhpgroup.com
Tom Gough, Communications Consultant Tel: +44 (0)20 7887 1092 Tom.gough@hammerson.com
Disclaimer
Certain statements made in this document are forward looking and are based on current expectations concerning future
events which are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Many of these assumptions, risks and
uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond the Group's control and which could cause actual results to differ materially
from any expected future events or results referred to or implied by these forward-looking statements. Any forward-
looking statements made are based on the knowledge and information available to Directors on the date of publication of
this announcement. Unless otherwise required by applicable laws, regulations or accounting standards, the Group does
not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future developments or otherwise. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met,
and reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statement. Nothing in this announcement should be regarded
as a profit estimate or forecast.
This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell, or any solicitation of any offer to
subscribe for or purchase any shares or other securities in the Company or any of its group members, nor shall it or any
part of it or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or commitment or
investment decisions relating thereto, nor does it constitute a recommendation regarding the shares or other securities of
the Company or any of its group members. Statements in this announcement reflect the knowledge and information
available at the time of its preparation. Liability arising from anything in this announcement shall be governed by English
law. Nothing in this announcement shall exclude any liability under applicable laws that cannot be excluded in
accordance with such laws.
Index to key data
Year ended 31 December 2024 2023 Note/Ref(1)
Income
Gross rental income(2) £189m £208m 2
Adjusted net rental income(2) £146m £168m 2
Adjusted net finance costs(2) £(32)m £(46)m 2
Adjusted earnings(3) £99m £116m 2
Net revaluation losses(2) £(91)m £(119)m 2
Loss for the period (IFRS) £(526)m £(51)m 2
Adjusted earnings per share(3)(5) 19.9p 23.4p 11B
Basic loss per share(5) (106.0)p (10.3)p 11B
Final dividend per share (cash)(5) 8.07p 7.80p 20
Dividend per share for the year (cash)(5) 15.63p 15.00p 20
Operational
Like-for-like gross rental income change(2) 1.6% 5.5% Table 3
Like-for-like net rental income change(2) (0.5)% 3.6% Table 4
Occupancy – flagships(2) 95.1% 94.6% Table 6
Leasing value (@ 100%) £41m £46m n/a
Leasing v ERV (principal leases)(2) +13% +12% n/a
Leasing v Passing rent (principal leases)(2) +56% +37% n/a
Passing rent(2) £182m £188m Table 5
Like-for-like passing rent change – flagships(2) 1.5% 2.5% Financial Review
ERV(2) £189m £193m Table 5
Like-for-like ERV change – flagships(2) 1.8% 1.7% Financial Review
Capital and financing
Valuation(2) £2,659m £2,776m 3B
Total accounting return(3) (24.2)% (2.1)% Table 21
Total property return(2) 2.1% 1.6% Table 9
Capital return(2) (3.4)% (4.1)% Table 9
Net debt(2) £799m £1,326m Table 12
Gearing(2) 45% 55% Table 16
Net debt: EBITDA(2) 5.8x 8.0x Table 14
Loan to value(2) 30% 34% Table 17
Loan to value - full proportional consolidation(2)(4) 30% 44% Table 17
Interest cover(2) 5.03x 3.91x Table 15
Liquidity £1,417m £1,225m Financial Review
Net assets £1,821m £2,463m Balance sheet
EPRA net tangible assets (NTA) per share(5) £3.70 £5.08 11C
(1) Note/Ref refers to notes in the financial statements, or tables in Additional Information or other sections of this release.
(2) Figures presented on a proportionally consolidated basis. See 'Presentation of financial information' section of the Financial Review for
explanation.
(3) These results include discussion of alternative performance measures (APMs) which include those described as Adjusted, EPRA and Headline.
These are described on page 13 of the Financial Review and reconciliations for earnings and net assets measures to their IFRS equivalents are set
out in note 10 to the financial statements.
(4) For 2023 included the Group's share of Value Retail's net debt and property portfolio, following the sale of the Group's interest this metric is the
same as Loan to value.
(5) 2023 figure restated to reflect the 1 for 10 share consolidation undertaken during 2024.
This short form announcement is the responsibility of the Directors of the Company. The information disclosed is only a
summary of the information in the full announcement and does not contain full or complete details. The full 2024 year end
results announcement should be considered for any investment decisions. The 2024 full year results announcement for
Hammerson plc is available for viewing at https://senspdf.jse.co.za/documents/2025/jse/isse/HMNE/FY2024.pdf and on
the Company's website at https://www.hammerson.com/investors/reports-results-presentations. Alternatively, copies of
the full announcement may be requested from the Company's investor relations department by emailing
InvestorRelations@hammerson.com
Hammerson has its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and secondary inward listings on the Johannesburg
Stock Exchange and Euronext Dublin.
26 February 2025
Sponsor:
Investec Bank Limited
Date: 26-02-2025 09:00:00
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