Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Reports Annual Results and FTSE 250 Inclusion

That growth was driven by contract wins, built-in price escalators, cost discipline and bolt-on acquisitions. Nothing flashy there, but that is exactly how you want infrastructure assets to grow – steadily, contract by contract, rather than on hope.

FTSE 250 inclusion is a bigger deal for Cordiant shares than it might look

Cordiant moved to the FCA Official List on 30 April 2026 and will join the FTSE 250 on 22 June 2026. For retail investors, that matters because index inclusion can bring in new demand from passive funds and improve liquidity in the shares.

The Board is clearly hoping this helps narrow the discount to NAV. That discount stood at 14.7% on 17 June 2026, down from 25.5% a year earlier, while the share price had risen 22.7% since the year end.

That is one of the most encouraging bits of the update. Cordiant has been producing decent asset-level progress for a while, but the market rating has lagged badly. A narrower discount does not change the assets, but it does make shareholders feel the benefit more directly.

Prague Gateway, data centres and fibre are doing the heavy lifting

The biggest value creation came from CRA and Emitel. CRA alone contributed a £67.5 million unrealised value gain, while Emitel added £65.7 million.

The standout project is Prague Gateway, CRA’s flagship data centre development in Prague with up to 26MW of available power. Groundworks and sewerage installation are complete, the main construction phase is next, and the land value was included in CRA’s valuation for the first time.

That matters because it is turning future potential into present NAV. It is also where some execution risk sits, because large construction projects can run late or over budget, and the Company itself says construction risk has increased.

Elsewhere, Speed Fibre completed the BT Ireland assets acquisition, adding a 3,400km fibre network and around 400 enterprise and government customers. Datacenter United also raised a €120 million senior financing package and continues to invest in expansion and AI-ready capacity.

At portfolio level, Cordiant now has 1,440 communications towers, 24 data centres and 14,272km of fibre-optic networks. There is also £952.1 million of contracted revenue across the portfolio, with some contracts stretching as far as 2044, which gives a lot of earnings visibility.

Cordiant dividend, debt and cash flow: reassuring, with one eye on leverage

The dividend was increased by 2.3% to 4.45p per share, and the forward target stays at 4.45p. Better still, it was covered 1.7x by adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO, which is a cash flow measure after financing costs, tax, debt repayments and maintenance spending.

That tells me the dividend looks sustainable on the numbers provided. It is not being stretched to make the shares look attractive, which is always worth checking in this part of the market.

Debt also looks manageable. Look-through net borrowings were 40.1% of gross asset value, virtually unchanged from 40.3%, and there are no external debt maturities until June 2029.

Total liquidity was £220.2 million, made up of £74.3 million in cash and £145.9 million in undrawn facilities. That gives Cordiant room to keep funding growth projects, although investors should remember that growth capital expenditure was £49.4 million in the year and these developments do need cash.

What are the weak spots in Cordiant’s annual report?

This was not a spotless update. Management said near-term performance will reflect recent customer churn and project phasing, with momentum expected to improve later in the year.

That is polite corporate language for a softer first half. It does not wreck the story, but it is a reminder that even digital infrastructure is not totally immune from contract losses, timing delays and slower customer decisions.

Hudson also remains the problem asset. It is only 2.7% of fair value of investments, but it posted an unrealised value loss of £11.6 million and still needs support while new data halls are commercialised.

Another point to keep in mind is valuation sensitivity. The portfolio is valued using discounted cash flow models, and the Company says a 1% increase in weighted average cost of capital would reduce valuation to £1,140 million, a fall of £222 million. That does not mean it will happen, but it shows these numbers are not set in stone.

My verdict on Cordiant Digital Infrastructure shares after the 2026 results

Overall, this is a good annual report. Cordiant has delivered genuine operating growth, rising NAV, a progressive dividend and tangible strategic progress, topped off by FTSE 250 inclusion.

The positive case is straightforward: a diversified digital infrastructure portfolio, long contracted revenues, reasonable dividend cover and a discount to NAV that is narrowing. The negative case is also clear enough: valuations are model-based, some projects carry execution risk, and near-term trading will not be perfectly smooth.

On balance, this reads as a strong update rather than a blowout one. For retail investors, the big thing to watch next is whether the market keeps rewarding that progress and pushes the shares closer to NAV.