Newcastle-headquartered Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed provider of private rental homes, on Monday published an update on trading for the 11 months to the end of August, 2026.
The firm reported a “robust operational performance, in line with guidance” with occupancy in its build-to-rent (BTR) portfolio remaining high at 96%.
Grainger said it will “deliver and lease up the three BTR schemes in our committed pipeline with £120m of investment remaining, which will drive 35% earnings growth from FY25 to FY29, after fully absorbing the impact of higher interest rates.”
The firm added: “We are making good progress in our secured pipeline, which has planning consent for 2,044 homes across seven sites.
“Positive improvements to the planning environment have allowed us to pursue changes to these existing planning consents to increase the number of homes on some of the schemes and we therefore expect to see an improvement on this position in due course.
“New investment commitments will be judged relative to other uses of capital and their relative returns.”
Grainger CEO Helen Gordon said: “It’s been another strong year of operational performance for Grainger. Demand for our rental homes remains strong with rental growth continuing in line with expectations and occupancy remaining high.
“We’ve made good progress in our pipeline including securing planning permission in Cambridge, our first investment in this target city, through our partnership with Network Rail.
“We have a clear plan to deliver shareholder value. We are on track to grow earnings by 35% from FY25 to FY29 from the build to rent development projects in our committed pipeline. We have an accelerated disposals programme in place for our c.£850m pool of non-core assets.
“We will reduce net debt by £300-350m by the end of FY29 to offset the rise in future finance costs from higher interest rates. We are lowering costs, with £2.4m of central costs removed at the beginning of this financial year and we are targeting a further c.£2m of savings to be delivered during FY27, representing 12% of our cost base overall.
“Alongside this, we will continue to closely consider the use of surplus capital in light of share price performance, weighing up the returns between share buybacks and investment opportunities.
“We have adapted well to the new Renters’ Rights Act environment with rental growth and occupancy remaining strong, and we are benefitting from certain advantages including greater visibility on future vacancies. The recent changes in the political landscape have reaffirmed the Government’s support for our sector and their continued opposition to rent controls.
“Grainger continues to deliver strong operational results. We are confident in the positive outlook for the business and our earnings growth trajectory, focused on delivering value for shareholders.”
Grainger added: “The political backdrop has cleared considerably since our HY results with clarity now established over the new Prime Minister, his Cabinet and his priorities.
“The return of Angela Rayner as Housing Secretary, and the retention of Matthew Pennycook as Housing Minister, provide much needed continuity, both of whom we have a positive working relationship with.
“It was encouraging to see the Housing Secretary publicly rule out any form of rent controls on national television in her first few days back in post.”