Walls & Futures REIT PLC rejects offer again and says it outperformed benchmark

() has again rejected the approach from Virgata as opportunistic and said that at 50p per share it substantially undervalues the company.

The ethical housing investor today published an updated net asset value per share of 102p as of 31 March 2021.

WAFR added it had collected 100% of rents during the past year despite the impact of Covid-19 and had also paid off its £600,000 revolving credit facility after the sale of two private rented properties for £1.3mln.

An independent valuation of the remaining properties by John D Wood in March indicated a value of £3.22mln.

The 5% decline in NAV over the year reflected the weakness currently the London private rented sector, WAFR said, with the value of its supported social housing properties holding up.

Walls & Futures added that for the 2020 calendar year its portfolio outperformed the benchmark MSCI UK Residential Property Index delivering a total return of 3.53% vs 0.57%.

“This is the fourth consecutive year we have outperformed the benchmark,” said the statement.

The trust also welcomed the greater involvement by the Social Housing regulator (RSH) in the sector as this is in line with its own focus on high-quality homes which can adapt to the residents’ needs at a rent level that is sustainable and offers value for money to the public purse.

WAFR added that its directors had noted the deadline for Virgata to publish its offer document of 6 May 2021 and will publish its defence document within 14 days of the publication of the offer document.