UK retail property paid off for investors in the New River Reit, which has returned dividends of 15p for the last three quarters.
The Reit, which joined the FTSE 250 index in December and runs shopping centres across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, has seen high occupancy and strong trading for its tenants.
The Christmas trading updates for its top retailers (Primark, Superdrug, B&M, Sainsbury's) show positive like-for-like income trends
The trust's third quarter dividend was up by more than 5 per cent and the dividend for the financial year to date up by more than 9 per cent to 15p a share.
David Lockhart, chief executive of the Reit, cited a policy of affordable rents and a conservative balance sheet in an uncertain macro-economic climate as paying off.
The Reit enjoys occupancy of 97 per cent with payment received for 99.3 per cent of rent demanded in the third quarter.
"We remain focused on generating sustainable income returns from our well placed convenience-led portfolio," said Mr Lockhart.
david.rowley@ft.com
