Swiss Central City doubles rental income

According to the Swiss Central City Real Estate Fund when presenting its annual results for 2021, the real estate portfolio grew substantially during the reporting period through acquisitions of nine residential properties, three mixed-use buildings and one commercial property. It had a market value of CHF 479.1 million as of December 31, 2021, up 46% from 327.4 million a year earlier. The newly acquired properties are located in central locations in Basel, Lausanne, St. Gallen and Winterthur.

The target rental income of investment properties increased by 37% from 11.8 million to 16.2 million as of December 31, 2021, and the residential ratio of the real estate portfolio increased to 54% (previous year: 47%). Rental income increased by 126% to 13.5 million in the reporting year 2021 compared to the same period of the previous year (previous year: 6.0 million). The main reason for the growth was the additional rental income from the acquisitions made in 2020. The 13 properties acquired during 2021 contributed a total of 2.7 million to rental income since acquisition.

The net income of the fund almost doubled compared to the previous year and reached 9.7 million (previous year: 4.9 million). The operating profit margin increased from 56.0% to 70.3%. The rent default rate excluding projects decreased from 11.0% to 6.7%. The valuation of the portfolio resulted in an unrealized gain of 7.8 million (previous year: 4.1 million), which, according to the Fund, was mainly due to revaluation gains on various acquired properties, a renewed reduction in discount rates and investments in portfolio properties. Total income for the reporting year 2021 amounted to 15.5 million compared to 7.7 million in the previous year.

In the current financial year, the Swiss Central City Real Estate Fund has already purchased three residential properties in St. Gallen and one residential property in Basel with a total market value of 21 million. According to the fund management, the fund continues to be convinced of the high attractiveness of the Swiss real estate market, especially in central locations, and aims to expand its portfolio with further acquisitions in 2022. (ah)