Hammerson Reports Robust FY25 Results: Net Rental Income Up 23%, Earnings and Dividend Grow

Strong FY25 performance and a bigger, better Hammerson

Hammerson has posted a robust set of FY25 results, showing a business that has scaled up and tightened execution. Total net rental income (NRI) rose 23% to £180m, helped by like-for-like growth and newly acquired joint venture interests. EPRA earnings edged up 5% to £104m, with EPRA EPS up 4% to 20.7p. Importantly, the IFRS line swung to a £232m profit (FY24: £526m loss) after a £120m net revaluation gain.

The balance sheet remains serviceable after an investment-heavy year. Loan to value (LTV) is 39% and the Group highlights annualised net debt:EBITDA of 8.1x. EPRA net tangible assets (NTA) per share increased 6% to £3.94. The dividend is up 6%: a final of 8.56p gives a full-year of 16.50p.

FY25 headline numbers

Metric	FY25	FY24
Net rental income	£180m	£146m
EPRA earnings	£104m	£99m
EPRA EPS	20.7p	19.9p
IFRS profit/(loss)	£232m	£(526)m
EPRA NTA per share	£3.94	£3.70
Dividend per share (FY)	16.50p	15.63p
Portfolio valuation	£3,549m	£2,659m
Loan to value	39%	30%
Net debt	£1,370m	£799m
Net debt:EBITDA (rolling 12 months)	9.5x	5.8x
Total accounting return	10.8%	(24.2)%

Where the growth came from

Scaling up at attractive yields

• Hammerson invested £757m since November 2024 across Westquay, Brent Cross, Bullring and Grand Central, and The Oracle at an average yield of 7.6%.
• The portfolio value is up 33% to £3.5bn (AUM £4.4bn), aided by acquisitions, ERV growth and some yield compression.
• Net revaluation gains of £120m include a £95m gain in flagships, delivering a 10% total property return.

Opinion: deploying capital at a 7.6% yield into prime retail-led city destinations looks sensible if leasing momentum and occupancy hold. The revaluation gain suggests improving investor sentiment for top-tier assets.

Leasing momentum and operational outperformance

• Record leasing of £51m (+18% like-for-like). New deals were done at +46% to previous passing rent and +11% ahead of ERV on a net effective basis – the fourth straight year of positive leasing spreads.
• Occupancy increased to 96%, with six of ten flagship destinations at least 98% occupied.
• £262m of rent is contracted to first break, with a further pipeline of about £20m.
• Like-for-like NRI rose 3% as active asset management and leasing fed through.

Footfall and sales are moving the right way. The Group counted 170m visitors (up 3m like-for-like), with flagship footfall +2% overall and outperformance in every geography versus local benchmarks. Second-half footfall accelerated to +3% year-on-year, helped by new openings and repositioning – notably The Oracle (+9%) and Cabot Circus (+6%). Sales densities were up 2%, improving affordability for tenants.

Opinion: leasing at double-digit premia to ERV is a strong tell for sustained demand in prime centres. Combine that with 96% occupancy and rising footfall, and you have a backdrop supportive of rental growth into FY26.

Platform efficiency kicking in

• EPRA cost ratio improved by 3.9 percentage points to 35.9%, with more reductions targeted in FY26 and beyond.
• Like-for-like ERV growth of 2.7% and passing rent growth of 3.3% in flagships underline embedded upside.

Opinion: cost discipline matters just as much as leasing. The lower cost ratio gives operating leverage as the larger portfolio beds in.

Balance sheet, funding and risk checks

• LTV sits at 39%, with annualised net debt:EBITDA of 8.1x. On a rolling 12-month basis, net debt:EBITDA is 9.5x. Interest cover is 5.06x.
• Liquidity is £970m. During the year, Hammerson issued a heavily oversubscribed €350m 3.5% bond, signed a new unsecured £100m term loan maturing 2028, and repaid a £338m 3.5% bond at maturity.
• There were credit rating uplifts – Fitch Senior Unsecured to A- and Moody’s Baa2 to positive outlook – and a front-footed 10% equity raise to part-fund Bullring and Grand Central.

Opinion: leverage is higher after the acquisition spree, and net debt has risen to £1,370m. That said, the rating moves, interest cover of just over 5x, and extended maturities point to a resilient capital structure. The key is execution: keeping occupancy high and cash generation improving to delever over time.

Guidance: double-digit growth targeted in FY26

Management expects in FY26:

• Total NRI growth of about 20%, with like-for-like NRI growth of roughly 4-5%.
• EPRA earnings growth of about 15% and EPRA EPS growth around 10%.

They flag high visibility on long-term income streams, with further growth in NRI and EPRA earnings anticipated in FY27 and beyond. The macro environment remains uncertain, but the operational set-up – strong leasing spreads, high occupancy and improving footfall – gives credibility to the targets.

What this means for investors

• Positive: clear operational momentum. Four years of positive leasing spreads, 96% occupancy and rising footfall suggest Hammerson’s prime assets are on the right side of retail’s “best vs the rest” divide.
• Positive: dividend growth of 6% and a 6% increase in EPRA NTA per share to £3.94 show both income and capital progress.
• Neutral-to-cautious: leverage is up. LTV at 39% is fine for the asset class, but net debt:EBITDA needs to trend lower as integration benefits and earnings growth arrive.
• Watch: delivery on repositionings (Cabot Circus and The Oracle lease-up; Cergy 3 in France launching and due to open H1 27, targeting about €2.5m annualised NRI) and the lease-up of the 122-unit Ironworks residential scheme at Dundrum.

Bottom line: a stronger, larger Hammerson is emerging, with guidance pointing to another year of growth. Execution on leasing and cost control will be the swing factors for returns.

Jargon buster (quick and simple)

• Net rental income (NRI): rental income after property operating costs.
• EPRA earnings/EPS: an industry measure of underlying profit that strips out valuation swings and other items, giving a cleaner view of recurring performance.
• EPRA NTA: a net asset value measure focused on the long-term value of the property portfolio.
• Loan to value (LTV): net debt divided by the value of the property portfolio.
• ERV: estimated rental value – the market rent an asset could achieve today.
• Passing rent: rent actually being paid now under existing leases.
• Leasing spread: the percentage difference between new lease terms and the prior terms or ERV.

Useful links and next steps

Hammerson is hosting an FY25 results presentation and webcast at 8.00am GMT:

• Results materials: FY25 results page
• Webcast link: Join the webcast

If you’re tracking the story, keep an eye on FY26 leasing run-rate, occupancy progression in the repositioned assets, and the pace of earnings growth versus the stated targets.