Derayah REIT receives rent revision requests amounting to SAR 4.5 mln on COVID-19 measures

Derayah Financial, the fund manager of Derayah REIT, received several requests from real estate tenants to defer or temporarily reduce due rents during the COVID-19 precautionary measures period.

The fund manager said in a bourse statement that the total value of these requests till date amounted to SAR 4.5 million, or 3% of the total annual rents of Derayah REIT.

The company did not accept some of these requests while still evaluating the remaining ones, noting that the petitions are dealt in accordance with regularity and contractual procedures to protect the interests of unitholders on a commercial basis.

The statement also indicated that the available cash assets currently stood at SAR 35 million, while the loan-to-value ratio did not exceed 36% and the outstanding financing facility is due 5 years from now.

The fund manager expected a positive impact due to the current reduction in SAIBOR rates and requested the banks to postpone debiting any due financing expense, as per the economic incentives announced by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA).

To preserve the liquidity of Derayah REIT, Derayah Financial embarked on additional measures such as postponing maintenance work and entering into negotiations to reduce operating expenses for some of the properties.

It also delayed filing value-added tax (VAT) returns, as permitted by General Authority of Zakat & Tax (GAZT), the statement added.

“Given the number of initiatives and discussions that we are working on, we also aim to maintain the stable quarterly cash dividends,” Derayah Financial said.

The fund manager will review the financial position of Derayah REIT periodically and will announce any material developments in due course.