Tritax Big Box half-year results: rental growth accelerates as data centre ambitions expand

A solid half, with one sizeable strategic twist

Tritax Big Box REIT plc has delivered higher rental income, recurring earnings growth and another dividend increase for the six months ended 30 June 2026.

The logistics property portfolio remains the financial engine. Net rental income rose 16.2% to £173.3 million, supported by the Blackstone portfolio acquisition and stronger like-for-like rents.

However, the most significant part of the announcement concerns data centres. Tritax has nearly doubled its secured power capacity to 507MW and plans to raise approximately £350 million through an equity issue to advance that pipeline.

That combination has encouraged management to increase its ambition for adjusted earnings per share, or EPS, growth to 65% by 2030/31, measured against the 7.9p achieved in 2024. This is explicitly an ambition rather than a profit forecast.

The full figures are available in the original company announcement.

Tritax Big Box half-year results at a glance

Key figure	H1 2026	Comparative	Change
Net rental income	£173.3 million	£149.2 million	16.2%
Operating profit before valuation movements and adjustments	£152.9 million	£144.1 million	6.1%
Adjusted EPS excluding DMA income	4.41p	4.12p	7.0%
Reported adjusted EPS	4.41p	4.63p	-4.8%
IFRS EPS	2.80p	6.72p	-58.3%
Dividend per share	4.00p	3.83p	4.4%
EPRA NTA per share	185.9p	187.8p	-1.0%
Loan-to-value ratio	32.9%	33.2%	-0.3 percentage points

The distinction between the two adjusted EPS figures matters. Tritax recognised no Development Management Agreement, or DMA, income during the half, compared with £13.3 million one year earlier.

DMA income comes from managing selected developments rather than owning the completed property. It can be profitable but is variable. Excluding it from both periods shows underlying adjusted EPS growing by 7.0%, which is a cleaner indication of recurring performance.

Rental reversion is becoming real income

The most encouraging operational figure is the 5.1% EPRA like-for-like rental growth, up from 2.5% in H1 2025.

Tritax secured £8.6 million of additional annual rent through reviews, lease events and new lettings. That was 54% more than the £5.6 million achieved in the comparable period.

There is potentially much more to capture. Estimated rental value across the investment portfolio was £459.6 million, compared with contracted rent of £355.7 million. This leaves £103.9 million of embedded rental reversion, equivalent to 29.2%.

Rental reversion is the gap between current contracted rents and the estimated market rent. Tritax expects approximately 72% of this gap to become available for capture over the next three years through rent reviews, lease renewals and leasing vacant space.

A further £23.1 million of rental opportunities were either in progress or scheduled for review during the second half of 2026. Converting even part of this opportunity into contracted income should support future earnings without requiring the same capital commitment as new development.

Logistics development remains productive, despite delays

Tritax secured £4.9 million of annual rent through development lettings during the half. Completed and leased developments delivered a 7.4% yield on cost, towards the upper end of guidance.

Another £13.0 million of potential annual rent was attached to projects under construction, with £9.8 million already secured and expected to commence in H2 2026.

There was also £7.6 million of rent in solicitors' hands and £6.8 million in advanced occupier negotiations. These are promising figures, although they should not be treated as completed transactions until contracts are signed.

The weak spot was development activity itself. No new logistics developments started during the half, while logistics development capital expenditure dropped 52.2% to £79.6 million. Tritax attributed this to planning determination delays rather than weaker occupier demand.

Full-year logistics development spending is still expected to fall within the £150 million to £250 million range.

Data centres move to the centre of the strategy

Tritax's data centre plans have advanced considerably since its 2025 results and data centre launch.

Planning consent has now been secured for Manor Farm. Its 107MW first phase has a prospective pre-let in solicitors' hands and is targeting approximately £34 million of annual rent at a 9.3% yield on cost.

The company has also secured another 235MW of power for two potential Greater London schemes, taking total secured capacity to 507MW. These additional projects are expected to be deliverable during 2030/31 and target yields on cost of 9% to 11%.

Together, the two new schemes target £50 million to £60 million of data centre rent and £300 million to £400 million of capital profits. These remain targets dependent on planning, funding, construction and occupier commitments.

The attraction is clear. Secured power is scarce, potentially creating a substantial barrier to competing developments. The challenge is that data centres require large amounts of capital and involve longer delivery periods than capturing rent reviews from existing warehouses.

The £350 million equity issue changes the calculation

Tritax intends to raise approximately £350 million through a non-pre-emptive placing, equivalent to around 8% of its current issued share capital. Completion requires shareholder approval at a general meeting on 24 August 2026.

The proceeds would support the enlarged data centre pipeline and improve financial flexibility. Raising equity also avoids relying entirely on additional debt at a time when the company is trying to maintain balance sheet discipline.

Even so, existing shareholders need to consider potential dilution. The placing can create value if the proceeds are invested at the targeted returns, but the benefits will depend on successful project delivery. Data centre rental income from the two newly announced schemes is not expected until 2030/31.

The balance sheet currently looks measured rather than stretched. Loan-to-value fell to 32.9%, or 32.1% after including £84.9 million of disposals completed or exchanged after the period end. Tritax also had more than £530 million of cash and undrawn facilities available.

Dividends rise, but property valuations remain a drag

The interim dividend increased 4.4% to 4.00p per share, with a payout ratio of 90.7% against adjusted earnings excluding DMA income.

That is supported by recurring rental earnings, but IFRS performance was weaker. IFRS EPS fell 58.3% to 2.80p, primarily because the portfolio recorded a £15.8 million revaluation deficit, compared with a £92.2 million surplus in the prior period.

EPRA net tangible assets, or NTA, declined 1.0% to 185.9p per share. EPRA NTA is a property industry measure intended to show the value of a company's tangible real estate assets after liabilities.

The portfolio's underlying capital value declined by 0.2% after capital expenditure. Rental growth, development gains and asset management activity offset most of the pressure from modestly higher property yields.

What investors should watch next

Tritax Big Box has three credible growth levers: capturing below-market rents, developing logistics buildings and progressing data centres. The first is already producing visible earnings growth, while the third offers greater potential returns but brings more execution and funding risk.

Near-term attention should focus on the £23.1 million rental opportunity, completion of logistics lettings, the Manor Farm pre-let and shareholder approval for the equity issue.

Investors should also monitor vacancy, which increased from 5.6% to 6.5%, although underlying vacancy remained unchanged at 3.1%. The increase came from recently completed speculative developments awaiting tenants.

Overall, recurring performance was positive, the dividend continued to grow and leverage edged lower. The bigger question is whether Tritax can convert its scarce power access into profitable data centre assets quickly enough to justify the new capital and its more ambitious long-term earnings target.