Announcement
CORPACT: PCT: 44 Bowen Street Committed and PCT First Quarter Dividend
09:22am
PCT
19/11/2020 09:22
CORPACT
NOT PRICE SENSITIVE
REL: 0922 HRS Precinct Properties New Zealand Limited (NS)
CORPACT: PCT: 44 Bowen Street Committed and PCT First Quarter Dividend
Precinct Properties New Zealand (Precinct) (NZX:PCT) is pleased to announce
today it will be committing to 44 Bowen Street, the second office building of
the Bowen Campus Stage Two development in Wellington. The project will be
undertaken on a pre-committed basis with leasing to KPMG secured across two
floors or 25% of office space on a 15-year term. Taking into account the
existing pre-commitments from EY, Fujitsu and Generator at 40 Bowen Street,
the aggregate pre-commit across Bowen Campus Stage 2 totals 10,000sqm, around
50% of the combined office space.
44 Bowen Street will occupy the western portion of the site on land formerly
occupied by the Charles Fergusson Annex building which was demolished during
the redevelopment of Bowen Campus Stage 1. The new building will provide for
eight levels of office accommodation totalling approximately 11,549m2 of
office NLA including the ground floor. Including 40 Bowen Street, the
development provides a total of around 21,000sqm of office space. In
addition to office accommodation, both buildings will provide a small amount
of retail/F&B as well as storage, end of trip facilities and bike parks. Both
buildings will be 5 Star Green Star rated and will share a common entrance
lobby and basement facilities including carparking. The total project cost
for 40 & 44 Bowen Street is expected to be around $195m and is expected to
yield 6.6% once fully leased.
Scott Pritchard, Precinct's Chief Executive said, "We are very pleased to be
welcoming KPMG into Precinct's portfolio and commencing 44 Bowen Street.
Securing another high-quality corporate occupier reinforces the demand for
this location and for quality office space in the Wellington City Centre.
With leasing enquiry remaining elevated in the Wellington market we expect
both buildings to be fully leased prior to completion."
Precinct notes that there has been considerable commentary around the impact
on the demand for city centre office space from COVID and working from home.
Across the Auckland and Wellington portfolios Precinct has continued to
experience solid demand with 10,000sqm of leasing transactions concluded
across both markets since 30 June. No further clients have notified Precinct
of an intent to reduce floor space and the majority of occupiers have now
returned to their offices.
Precinct is also pleased to advise that shareholders will receive a
first-quarter dividend of 1.625 cents per share plus imputation credits of
0.003223 cents per share. Offshore investors will receive an additional
supplementary dividend of 0.001463 cents per share to offset non-resident
withholding tax (see Note 1). The record date is 26 November 2020 and payment
will be made on 10 December 2020. See Note 2 for Inland Revenue Department
(IRD) change in relation to listed PIE income.
In addition, and despite the high level of uncertainty within the New Zealand
economy, Precinct remains confident its strategy, supported by high occupancy
levels, a long weighted average lease term and high quality clients, will
continue to deliver returns for shareholders and reaffirms its dividend
guidance of 6.50cps for FY21 reflecting an increase of 3.2% over the FY20
period.
Ends
For further information, please contact:
Scott Pritchard
Chief Executive Officer
Mobile: +64 21 431 581
Email: scott.pritchard@precinct.co.nz
George Crawford
Chief Operating Officer
Mobile: +64 21 384 014
Email: george.crawford@precinct.co.nz
Richard Hilder
Chief Financial Officer
Mobile: +64 29 969 4770
Email: richard.hilder@precinct.co.nz
About Precinct (PCT)
Precinct is New Zealand's only listed city centre specialist investing
predominately in premium and A-grade commercial office property. Listed on
the NZX Main Board, PCT currently owns Auckland's PwC Tower, AMP Centre, ANZ
Centre (50%), Jarden House, HSBC House, Mason Bros. Building, 12 Madden
Street, 10 Madden Street and Commercial Bay; and Wellington's AON Centre, NTT
Tower, No. 1 and No. 3 The Terrace, Mayfair House and Bowen Campus. Precinct
owns Generator NZ, New Zealand's premier flexible office space provider.
Generator currently offers 13,600 square metres of space across four
locations in Auckland.
Note 1
A supplementary dividend is paid to non-resident shareholders to offset the
amount of non-resident withholding tax ("NRWT") that New Zealand companies
are required to deduct from dividends paid to non-resident shareholders. A
supplementary dividend is paid to ensure equitable treatment between
non-resident shareholders and resident shareholders (whose dividends are not
subject to NRWT). There's no disadvantage to Precinct or our shareholders,
and non-resident shareholders don't get a larger cash dividend than an
equivalent New Zealand resident shareholder.
Note 2
As listed PIEs are taxed at 28%, any investor who has a resident withholding
tax ("RWT") rate lower than this will have to manually add this PIE income to
their annual tax returns. All other investment income will be automatically
provided to the IRD. You are required to include the Gross dividend in your
income tax return (and claim a credit for the imputation credits) unless you
are an individual or trustee investor. If you are an individual or trustee
investor you can choose whether to include this amount in your income tax
return. Individual or trustee investors on lower than the 30% marginal tax
rate may choose to do so to gain the benefit of the imputation credits
attached. The excluded income should not be included in your tax return. All
shareholders should seek independent advice if you have any queries regarding
the tax treatment of your payment.
End CA:00363484 For:PCT Type:CORPACT Time:2020-11-19 09:22:10
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