I would now like to hand the conference over to Steven Sewell, Managing Director. Please go ahead.
Thanks, and good morning everybody, on a busy morning. We welcome you to the FY 2026 results presentation for Abacus Group. I am joined here today by Evan Goodridge, the group's current CFO, who is supporting both Abacus Group and Storage King Group through the 2026 results period. Also Lawrence Wong, our incoming CFO of Abacus Group, Kevin George, the General Manager, Commercial and Fund Manager for the group, as well as other members of our investor relations and finance team. You will see in the result there is a number of impacts that result from the internalization of the entire management function of Storage King Group, which took effect on 30th of June , as we announced back in May. You may notice on the header page a subtle logo addition. This year, Abacus celebrates its 25th year as a listed company.
In August 2026, somewhat of a watershed year with the evolution and now separation of the self-storage business, Storage King. I just want to give thanks and acknowledge the myriad of team members, executives, board members that have contributed to the group's long history. Turning to our financial year 2026 metrics, there are a number of very positive operating highlights across the business. Commercial occupancy remains strong at 91.2%. Leasing activity was solid with almost 50,000 sq m completed during the year. The group reported an FFO of AUD 81.2 million, reflecting, we believe, the resilience of the portfolio of assets and our focus on execution. At 30 June, 2026, the group's portfolio was valued at AUD 2.5 billion, with a weighted average cap rate of 6.7%.
You will note the statutory loss and decline in NTA during the period. This was driven largely by non-cash accounting adjustments associated with the now complete internalization of Storage King Group, where our ASK investment is remeasured using the listed share price at year end, which resulted in a AUD 122 million non-cash accounting loss. Importantly, these accounting adjustments do not change the underlying strength of the business, which continued to deliver stable operating performance, strong occupancy and growth in funds from operations. We were pleased during the year to declare an AUD 0.085 per security distribution in line with our guidance, and gearing of 36.2% at the end of the period remains well within our target range. Abacus Group going forward is positioned as a focused pure play commercial REIT. Our strategy is straightforward.
We invest in high quality commercial real estate sectors that can deliver sustainable long-term returns through active investment management, disciplined asset management and a strong customer focus. We believe the office sector in Australia has very sound fundamentals. The market is showing signs of stabilizing from cyclical lows. Replacement costs remain supportive of valuations and new supply remains constrained. Together, these factors provide, we believe, a supportive backdrop for medium-term rental growth. We're concentrating our investment activity in Australia's major East Coast markets, particularly Sydney and Brisbane, where we see the strongest opportunities to create value and grow income over time. Sydney remains our preferred market, given its scale, liquidity and highly diversified tenant base. Brisbane continues to benefit from strong population growth, significant infrastructure investment and favorable demand drivers.
Within office, our focus remains on high quality assets that are well-positioned to meet the needs of their customers, particularly small to medium-sized enterprises. We will continue to actively manage and enhance our portfolio through targeted repositioning refurbishment initiatives while maintaining a disciplined approach to operational performance. Importantly, customer outcomes remain central to our strategy. By strengthening customer relationships and using insights from our recently completed Voice of Customer program, we aim to improve occupancy outcomes, enhance overall asset performance, which will support long-term earnings growth. Following the internalization effective 30 June, our key business priorities are centered on disciplined execution, supported by a clear strategic agenda to strengthen the business today while positioning us to deliver sustainable long-term value for security holders. Our immediate focus is on simplifying the organization.
We will continue to streamline our systems and processes, building a more efficient operating platform while maintaining our focus on sectors where we have proven capability. Our priority is to preserve our agile decision-making and efficient execution capability while reducing operating costs. This work is expected to support a lower management expense ratio over time and allow us to optimize our income yield. Over the near term, our attention shifts to further strengthening the balance sheet through disciplined capital recycling, continued portfolio refinement, reducing gearing, and resetting to a more sustainable through-the-cycle payout ratio of 80%-90% of FFO. Our aim is to create greater financial flexibility while ensuring capital is directed towards the highest returning opportunities. Looking further ahead, these initiatives place us in a stronger position to capitalize on attractive investment opportunities as they emerge.
With a technologically savvy bespoke platform, a stronger balance sheet, and continued disciplined approach to capital allocation, we believe the group will be well-positioned to enhance returns and deliver sustainable earnings growth through the cycle. Turning to the highlights from financial year 2026, we delivered a solid operating performance across the portfolio while successfully completing the ASK internalization. Right across the office portfolio, we achieved leasing spread growth of 5.5%, which was reflected in broad-based growth across the portfolio and continued demand for well-located assets in our core markets. Our retail portfolio performed strongly with leasing spread growth of 8.4%, supported by the continued momentum at Oasis and the strength of its prime Broadbeach on the Gold Coast location. Platform efficiencies was a focus of 2026 and will continue to be in FY 2027, where we are targeting a 25% reduction in admin expenses, primarily via headcount reduction.
Importantly, as I touched on earlier, FY 2026 also marked the successful completion of the internalization. This represents the culmination of a multi-year strategy that began with the acquisition of the Storage King operating platform in FY 2021, the de-stapling of the business in FY 2023, and now the internalization of the management in FY 2026. That positions Abacus Group clearly as a focused commercial REIT moving forward. I will now hand over to Evan to discuss the group's financial results in more detail.
Steven, and good morning. Financial year 2026 has been a year of significant transition for Abacus Group as we completed the internalization of Storage King's management platform, sharpening our focus as a pure play commercial REIT. While our core portfolio continued to deliver a resilient earnings result. Half of our operating earnings again came from office, with the balance collectively from retail, investment income, and returns from our 19.7% ownership in what is now Storage King Group. Funds from operations for the year were AUD 81.2 million, or AUD 0.0908 per security, down 1.9% on FY 2025. Breaking this down, office earnings were AUD 89.6 million, down 3.2% on FY 2025's AUD 92.6 million. Excluding the impact of surrender fees, office earnings were AUD 88.7 million, up 5.3% from AUD 84.3 million, as the group has been able to lease up the majority of the surrendered space ahead of initial underwrite.
Retail delivered like-for-like operating earnings growth of 4.5% to AUD 30 million. Our equity share of Storage King's earnings prior to internalization completing was AUD 16.1 million, down 4.2% on the prior year. Investment management and other income held steady at AUD 27 million. Administrative expenses continued to reduce, down 5% to AUD 32 million, and net finance costs reduced to AUD 44.2 million, down from AUD 49.7 million in FY 2025. Abacus has historically utilized carry-forward revenue losses to mitigate its tax expense payable. These losses have now been exhausted in our FFO, and a more normalized run rate of zero to AUD 2 million per annum in tax expense is expected moving forward. Our distribution for the year was AUD 0.085 per security, representing a payout ratio of 93.6%. Looking ahead to FY 2027, there are four important moving parts for the group.
These moving parts will help simplify the business, strengthen the platform, and position us for growth. First, now that we are no longer the manager of Storage King, our retained stake is held at fair value rather than equity accounted. This means that on an ongoing basis, we will only receive Storage King's distribution, guided at AUD 0.045 per security for FY 2027, rather than our full equity share of earnings. Second, we will also no longer collect asset or development fees associated with Storage King's management. Third, we are continuing to simplify and recycle our own portfolio. With this in mind, we expect to deliver a number of disciplined non-core asset sales consistent with the capital recycling priority we have set out over FY 2027. Hopefully, we will be able to update the market further later in the year. Fourth, our corporate structure will become simpler and more efficient.
Since 30 June, we have reduced headcount by more than a third, continuing the organizational efficiencies that we are targeting as we simplify the business. The group has identified AUD 8.4 million of annualized cost savings, primarily associated with transferring staff to Storage King, and remains focused on further reducing management expense through a leaner operating model. Taking the four moving parts together for FY 2027, we are targeting a distribution of AUD 0.067 per security, with FFO expected to deliver a payout ratio around the midpoint of our revised 80%-90% range. This reflects a genuinely different earnings base once Storage King's contribution is removed and a portfolio and corporate structure that is still mid-transition.
With our FY 2027 distribution levels reset, we expect that two-thirds of it will be via a fully franked dividend, and it is the group's intention to distribute our remaining AUD 51 million of franking credits to security holders over the medium term. This guidance is subject to no material deterioration in commercial property market and current business conditions, and Steven will discuss the group's outlook and guidance in more detail shortly. Turning to the portfolio. Total group assets were AUD 2.46 billion, down from AUD 2.59 billion. On 30 June, we completed the internalization of Storage King's Management, which required us to remeasure our retained 19.7% stake from an equity account investment to fair value. As we flagged to the market following Storage King's own FY 2026 results release, that single non-cash accounting entry reduced total assets by AUD 122 million and is the primary driver of our reduction in assets for the year.
Our exposure to core commercial sectors, office and retail, increased to 77% of total assets, up from 72%. That trend is expected to continue in FY 2027. The group continues to adopt a disciplined approach to capital management. Gearing closed the year at 36.2%, up from 34.5% at FY 2025, and on a covenant basis, 41.2% against the covenant of 50%. For FY 2027, we expect gearing to reduce as non-core sale proceeds are applied to debt reduction. Our interest cover ratio was 2.7x against a covenant of 2x , and the group's average cost of debt for FY 2026 was 4.5%, down from 5.1% in FY 2025. Our hedge cover currently sits at 81%. For FY 2027, we are targeting a weighted average cost of debt of approximately 5.25% as those lower cost historical hedges progressively roll off. Importantly, we have no bank debt maturing in FY 2027.
During the year, we extended our syndicated facility on improved tenor and pricing. We retained funding capacity of more than AUD 150 million or approximately AUD 450 million when we include our liquid investment in Storage King. Net tangible assets closed the year at AUD 1.59 per security, down from AUD 1.72. In respect to valuations, our investment property portfolio closed the year at AUD 1.826 billion, up from AUD 1.8 billion. That reflects an increase of AUD 36 million of capital expenditure, less fair value losses of AUD 17 million. Our weighted average cap rate firmed slightly to 6.7% from 6.77% a year ago. I note that this is my last results presentation as CFO of Abacus Group. It has been my privilege to be able to share the group's results with you over my 15 years at Abacus, and I wish my replacement, Lawrence Wong, all the very best in the future.
With that, I will hand over to Kevin to discuss the group's operating performance.
Thanks, Evan, and thanks for your contribution to the group over many years. Our office portfolio comprises predominantly A-grade assets across Australia's eastern seaboard with a strong weighting to Sydney and Brisbane. We continue to favor these markets given their attractive long-term fundamentals. Putting on Steven's earlier comments, Sydney remains Australia's largest and most diverse office market, while Brisbane continues to benefit from strong population growth, significant infrastructure investment, and solid business activity. Our portfolio is well-aligned to the SME sector, which represents around 60% of our customer base. SME demand has historically led the early stages of office market recovery, positioning us well as operating conditions continue to improve. Beyond the quality of our assets, a key differentiator is our focus on customer experience and engagement.
During FY 2026, we achieved a Net Promoter Score of +35 across our managed office portfolio, up from +28 in FY 2025, reflecting the strength of our customer relationships and service proposition. Through our Voice of Customer program, asset activation initiatives, and active engagement with customers, we continue to support retention, drive leasing outcomes, and enhance the performance of the portfolio. Turning to our key office portfolio metrics. Demand continues to be supported by the SME flight to value trend, digital workspace offerings, and active customer engagement. Our portfolio delivered 2% like-for-like rent growth in FY 2026, supported by leasing spreads of 5.5% and average rent reviews of 3.2%. This was modestly below FY 2025 growth, reflecting slightly lower occupancy during the year. Occupancy at 30 June was 89.2%, down from 91.1% in FY 2025, primarily reflecting residual vacancy from customer surrenders recognized in the prior period.
Pleasingly, leasing progress on the surrendered space has been strong, with 80% of the area at 324 Queen Street already committed and at 99 Walker Street, approximately 60% of the surrendered floors over a period of time have been re-leased. Moving to our office leasing metrics. Leasing spreads remained positive at 5.5%, underpinned by strong outcomes at 14 Martin Place and 324 Queen Street, which achieved spreads of 9.9% and 8.7% respectively. During FY 2026, we completed 71 leasing transactions across almost 50,000 sq m, up 5% on FY 2025. The increase in activity was driven by strong leasing outcomes across the portfolio, including at 91 King William Street, which recorded 7,600 sq m of transactions compared with 2,800 sq m in FY 2025, primarily supported by Department of Veterans' Affairs renewal and expansion. Leasing activity was well-balanced, with new deals representing 53% of transactions and tenants renewing 47%.
Average incentives were 33% for the year, broadly in line with FY 2025. Slightly lower, in fact, than half year 2026. While incentives on larger new transactions remained elevated, we are encouraged by the re-emergence of a spread between new customer transactions and existing customers extending their tenure. Renewal incentives averaged 25%, compared with 35% on new deals, a good early indicator of an improving market. We are also seeing stronger outcomes in premium locations. At 14 Martin Place, six of the seven leasing transactions completed during the year were agreed at incentives below 30%, highlighting improving conditions for high-quality, well-located assets. Another sign of market improvement, we reduced average downtime on new leasing transactions to 9.5 months, down from 11 months in FY 2025, reflecting improving leasing efficiency across the portfolio.
Looking ahead, we expect incentives to continue moderating, particularly in Sydney and Brisbane, where vacancy is tightening and new supply remains limited. Turning now to our lease expiry profile. We remain comfortable with our vacancy position and near term expiries. Importantly, 65% of our vacant space is fitted and customer-ready, allowing us to capture demand quickly as it emerges. Our largest vacancy remains at 710 Collins Street, which is being actively marketed following government tenant departures during FY 2026. Discussions with prospective tenants are ongoing. Pleasingly, we have started FY 2027 well, with a meaningful proportion of vacant space already under heads of agreement or in advanced negotiations. Finally, looking at our retail portfolio, performance remained strong throughout FY 2026, with occupancy increasing to 97.4% and the weighted average lease expiry extending to 4.8 years.
Leasing conditions at Oasis remained favorable, with net base leasing spreads of 8.4% and incentives holding at a low 15% across both new and renewal deals. These metrics reflect the quality of the Oasis asset, in particular, its dominant Broadbeach Gold Coast location, resilient retailer demand and the strength of customer engagement across the center. We also delivered strong retention outcomes during the year, supporting occupancy, reducing vacancy risk and underpinning the stability of future earnings. I am going to hand you back to Steven for the outlook and guidance.
Thanks, Kevin and Evan. Our commercial portfolio continues to perform. The group, as I said before, is now focused as a specialized commercial REIT. We are pleased to provide distribution guidance for FY 2027 of AUD 0.067 per security, reflecting a payout ratio in the range of 80%-90% of FFO, assuming no material decline in current business conditions. As Evan mentioned, we have also increased the franking component in FY 2027 and expect 67% of the distribution to be fully franked, up from 50% in FY 2026. I just wanted to take a moment to mention and acknowledge some people that have contributed to Abacus Group over many years and have or are about to leave the group. Firstly, Evan Goodridge, who, as I said earlier, will leave at the end of the month.
Evan took on the CFO role during the pandemic after working many years in finance across many different functions. We do wish Evan every success at Storage King Group. Secondly, many of you will have interacted over the years with Neil Summerfield. Neil has been with Abacus over 17 years and leaves at the end of the month. Neil was previously Head of Investor Relations, accompanying my predecessor, and has been a loyal and positive contributor to the group in its various activities and major transactions. We sincerely wish Neil every success also in his exciting new chapter. Finally, Myra Salkinder retired as our Chair in June. After more than 15 years on the board and as Chair for about eight years, Myra devoted an enormous amount of energy and attention to the group and will be missed for her wise counsel and people-first mentality.
We wish Myra every happiness and success in her retirement as she takes on more and more of her life interests, including her growing family and wonderful grandchildren. That ends the formal remarks for the presentation. I now look forward to any questions or alternatively, meeting with you in person in the days and weeks to come.
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question via the phones, you will need to press the star key, followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. To ask a question via the webcast, please type your question into the ask a question box and click submit. The first phone question today comes from Larry Gandler from Shaw and Partners. Please go ahead.
Thanks, Steven, for taking the question. Welcome, Lawrence, and good luck, Evan, over at ASK. Just quickly, Steven, can you maybe give us your thoughts on what you're thinking about the ASK stake? Just maybe some comments around that.
I think, Larry, as you'd appreciate, given we no longer are the manager of that group and have any involvement with the group, it's no longer considered a strategic investment. It is held as a current asset and like every investment we have on the balance sheet, is constantly reviewed for its long-term returns to the group. That's about as much as we can say at the moment.
Is it meeting any sort of financial metrics that would warrant it being retained?
Well, given the group is a commercially focused REIT, I would say there's a fair chance that it's not strategic to hold an investment in a self-storage listed entity. I think that's about as much as we can say, Larry.
Okay. Got it. Thanks, Steven. Just wanted to clarify.
Thank you. The next question comes from Callum Bramah from Macquarie. Please go ahead.
Morning. Thanks for taking the question. Just wondered if you can give a little bit more color around the expectations for 2027 in the guidance, particularly around retail and office. I know there was quite a few comments around the expiry profile, but just wondered if you can particularly reference any known outcomes in that short term or 2027 expiries bucket that we need to think about and just your expectations on growth coming out of the retail component as well.
I think the overarching message, Callum, is that we're seeing some really strong green shoots coming through, particularly in Sydney and Brisbane in office leasing. As Kevin mentioned, incentives starting to moderate, particularly with our retention and renewal transactions. I think that's probably the most pleasing outcome, and certainly, as Kevin mentioned, is one of those sort of leading indicators of a recovering market. We think that obviously the supply constraints in the various markets is assisting for well-located, well-capitalized and actively managed assets. That's a big part of our customer proposition. So when we look across our portfolio, the building we're in here, 77 Castlereagh, 100% leased. We've been able to shift 201 Elizabeth Street up to the sort of mid-80s. We think there's more to go there and obviously with our partners at Charter Hall, we're working hard on that building.
Continuing to churn tenants at our assets such as 324 Queen Street with positive results, 99 Walker Street in North Sydney with positive results. So it is a constant work in progress, but we are seeing that turning of the market and we think that tenants are willing to commit. They're committing to positive deals, renewals, in-place tenants are wanting to stay on. Our only retail asset, that property continues to perform almost above our underwrite and above our expectations. It's anchored by a very strongly performing supermarket, but it does sit really at the commercial hub of Broadbeach, and that does give us a lot of confidence to continually look to optimize the tenant mix. It is spread over three levels. It does have a very big restaurant precinct and also car park, a very profitable car park activity.
It's a terrific property in a great location and the retail sector's running pretty hot, as you'd understand. We are very positive and upbeat about the performance of that asset.
Does guidance include or have an expectation of an improvement in occupancy for office by the end or during 2027?
I think there'd be a marginal uptick. I think we're looking at a couple of percent uptick in 201 Elizabeth Street. Some of the re-leasing. We've got some floors coming back at properties like 14 Martin Place, 99 Walker Street, 324 Queen. Kevin touched on 91 King William Street over in Adelaide. We've had a floor handed back there from an existing tenant, but we're in strong discussions with tenants. It's not a dramatic movement in overall occupancy, but quite good re-leasing, and with those positive spreads that we're seeing come through.
Callum, I think the assets where we're not going to see any material movement or income from major vacancies, Allara Street, Canberra and The Goods Shed. Allara Street needs to go through a refurbishment before that's ready to lease post-government. The Goods Shed, we're in active conversations with a number of tenants but timing for those is later, which would see income beyond the current year. But yeah, as Steven mentioned, broad-based opportunity across the rest of the core portfolio.
Maybe if I can ask another one, just around costs. The 25% reduction in admin expense in 2027, do you think that there's further costs that come out again in 2028, or does that get you to your kind of target MER? As you think about the MER, Steven, I just wondered, do you exclude, I guess, the ASK stake in that kind of calculation? Or how should we think about that?
I think, Callum, it's a constant work in progress as to technology applications across the business. What is the portfolio that we own? What are we focused on? We've just gone through a transition with property managers, so there's quite a big roles and responsibilities alignment going on across the commercial team. Lawrence joining in the finance team, looking with a fresh set of eyes at our corporate structure, what we've got in place, and the team. I wouldn't say that 2027 is the end game. I think it's a constant work in progress. I think from an MER perspective, you're right. The ASK stake obviously doesn't get counted. We're also very keen to grow, as we've said in the strategic priorities, and setting the business with a very low level of gearing.
Looking at opportunities as they emerge, we'd be looking to deploy some of that balance sheet strength in the latter part of FY 2027 and into 2028. It does sort of move the numbers around quite a bit, as you'd appreciate.
Yep. Thanks very much. Thanks for taking the questions. Congrats to Evan and Neil and Myra on a great innings and contribution to the group. Thanks so much.
Thanks, Callum.
Thank you. The next question comes from Ben Brayshaw from Barrenjoey. Please go ahead.
Hi, Steven. Thanks for the presentation. I was just wondering, given that ABG is trading 45% below its NTA, if you could just talk about what opportunities you see as means to narrow that gap to your asset backing, and how the board are also thinking about whether ABG could be a beneficiary of strategic transactions or M&A within the sector.
Our focus, as we've said, Ben, is non-core sales, reduction in gearing, and really driving down the operating costs of the business. That we see as our best opportunity to present the most optimum income yield, our portfolio, and investors can obviously then make their mind up as to how that tracks relative to the valuation of the business. We don't control that discount that we trade on a daily basis, but we are very focused on delivering the best income yield for the portfolio of investments that we have. We constantly look at every asset. We look at its three-year projections and contribution to the profitability of the group, and that covers across not only the Storage King stake, but also the retail assets and the commercial assets. As Kevin mentioned, we have some non-core sales that are continuing.
The likes of Allara Street in Canberra, a single asset, small building that we have in Alexandria, Bowden Street. That is a constant work in progress, looking at what is considered non-core and what will be crystallized. We are comforted and pleased to have contracted situation with the Camellia asset. That is scheduled to complete by the end of September. We will constantly look at having the gearing level running at the lower end of the 25%-40% range and driving the income yield on our investments. That is what we see, really, as our best opportunity.
Okay. Thanks, Steven.
Thank you once again. To ask a question via the phones, please press star one. To ask a question via the webcast, please type your question into the ask a question box. The next phone question comes from Connor Eldridge from JPMorgan. Please go ahead.
Hi, guys. Just to follow on on the Storage King stake. Can you just share what you are assuming in distribution income from that stake in FY 2027 guidance?
Storage King announced their results last week, and they announced that their distribution would be AUD 0.045 for FY 2027.
Okay. Are you assuming a full year of that in your guidance?
I think Steven gave the best answer to Larry Gandler's question earlier on, which is that we assess all our assets. That one obviously is no longer a strategic stake as we no longer have the management associated with it, and it will be assessed at the right and appropriate time for the organization.
Great, thanks. Just on AFFO, can you share what your assumption is in FY 2027 in terms of maintenance CapEx? Do you expect the dividend to be fully covered after accounting for that?
Yeah, in the back of the appendices, I think it is slide 21 from memory, we break down the maintenance CapEx tenant incentives for FY 2026. You can safely assume that that number has been relatively consistent for a period of time.
Great, thanks.
Thank you. At this time, we are showing no further questions via the phones. I will hand the conference back to management.
Thanks. We do have a couple of web questions that have come in. One is in relation to the Myer Melbourne building, the 50% interest in the Myer Melbourne building we have in Melbourne. We are very pleased with the performance of that asset. We are obviously conscious that Myer Melbourne is in a department store category which, at various times, has its challenges. But given the fundamentals of that real estate, a 4,000-meter block of land in the CBD, I think it is the single biggest land holding in the middle of Melbourne. The improvements that were spent on that building over the course of the last 10 or 12 years, we are very happy with that investment. The other question is just in relation to the change in distribution, and that reduction to AUD 0.067.
I'd just draw everybody's attention to what we've said about the payout ratio, and we've guided to an 80%-90% payout ratio of FFO, which is a very material step down from the payout ratio that has existed in the last two or three years. We think it's very prudent at this point in the cycle. We think it is a material change for the better. It does provide that sort of step-off mark for growth and sustainable distributions going forward, and in keeping with our peers. I think that's a prudent decision that we've taken today. That's about the end of the questions that we've received. On that note, I will thank you for your attendance and look forward to speaking over the course of the next few days. Thank you.