Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Growthpoint Properties Australia FY 2026 results call. All participants are in a listen-only mode. There will be a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. If you wish to ask a question via the phone, you will need to press the star key followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you do wish to ask a question via the webcast, please enter it into the Ask a Question box and click submit. I would now like to hand the conference over to Ross Lees, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. Please go ahead.
Morning. My name is Ross Lees, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Growthpoint Properties Australia, and I welcome you to the presentation of our full year 2026 financial results. I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of Country throughout Australia and their enduring connections to land, sea, and community. Today, we join you from the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, and I pay my respects to their elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples joining online today. Presenting with me today is Melinda Ch'ng, who joined as our Chief Financial Officer during the year, and Nick Kost, who was promoted Group Executive, Head of Property in the first half. I am also joined in the room by Jacquee Jovanovski, our Chief Operating Officer, and Alix Holston, our Head of Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations.
I will begin the presentation today with an overview of FY 2026 and our strategic highlights before handing to Melinda for the financial results and Nick for an update on the direct portfolio. I will then return to discuss funds management and our priorities for FY 2027. Before we move to the results, I would like to provide a short overview of Growthpoint today. Our purpose, creating value beyond real estate, continues to guide our approach to delivering sustainable value for security holders. Today, we manage approximately AUD 5.2 billion of assets under management across 64 assets, comprising AUD 4 billion of directly held office and industrial assets and AUD 1.2 billion managed on behalf of third-party wholesale and institutional investors. Our key strength is the capability and dedication of our team of sector and discipline specialists who are committed to delivering exceptional service through a partnership-led approach.
FY 2026 was a year of disciplined execution against a challenging and increasingly volatile macroeconomic backdrop. We entered FY 2026 optimistic for an improved operating environment following interest rate cuts and growing confidence in capital markets. However, geopolitical uncertainty and inflationary pressures influenced the second half, resulting in rising interest rates and a more cautious investment environment. Despite these conditions, active management of our portfolio delivered record office leasing volumes, increasing portfolio occupancy to 96% and a weighted average lease expiry of 6.1 years. We also continued to pursue new opportunities in funds management with AUD 125 million of new AUM created. This operational execution supported the delivery of funds from operations at AUD 23.5 cps , near the top end of our guidance range and above FY 2025.
In August last year, we outlined a clear set of priorities aligned to our strategic pillars, and we delivered measurable progress against each. Our focus on leasing and customer relationships delivered record office leasing of more than 81,000 sq m and almost 118,000 sq m of industrial leasing, which resulted in an overall increase of portfolio occupancy to 94%. In funds management, we expanded the Growthpoint Australia Logistics Partnership, established the Growthpoint Macquarie Park Trust, and delivered liquidity to fund investors. During the year, we refinanced AUD 495 million of debt and now have liquidity available to cover all FY 2027 debt maturities. We progressed asset recycling initiatives, including the sale of the Woolworths Perth Distribution Centre announced post-year-end. From a sustainability perspective, we achieved our net zero target and improved and maintained strong environmental ratings as well as strengthening our leadership team.
Sustainable future-proofing is a key pillar in our strategy, incorporating climate, stakeholder satisfaction, and governance. It is a defining feature for the Growthpoint business, as we know this directly translates into higher tenant inquiry, occupancy, and customer satisfaction and will drive returns over the long term. During FY 2026, we achieved our net zero target, maintained a GRESB score of 85, and further improved our NABERS energy, water, and indoor environment ratings. We achieved three out of four performance targets for our sustainability-linked loans, achieving a margin discount. We increased our employee engagement score to 76%, 5 percentage points above the industry benchmark, and our tenant customer satisfaction score remained strong at 77%. We also completed phase one of our Yardi ERP implementation, supporting future scalability and operational efficiency. I will now hand over to Melinda to take you through the financial results in more detail.
Thank you, Ross. FY 2026 was a year where strong operational execution translated into earnings growth despite a higher- for- longer interest rate environment. FFO increased 0.9% to AUD 177.6 million, or AUD 23.5 cps , finishing near the top end of our guidance range. The key driver was property FFO growth of 1.8%, supported by strong leasing outcomes across both office and industrial portfolios, resulting in like-for-like property growth of 2.6%. This operational performance largely offset two headwinds. First, funds management revenue was lower than FY 2025, which benefited from higher acquisition fee income. Second, net finance costs increased due to the progressive increase in cash rate in the second half. We maintained distributions at AUD 18.4 cps , with a payout ratio of 78.2%, within our target range of 75%-85%. Capital recycling remains a key component of our strategy.
Since FY 2024, we have completed or announced approximately AUD 637 million of divestments. These transactions have enhanced portfolio quality, generated liquidity, and supported balance sheet flexibility. Divestments have significantly exceeded reinvestment over the period, demonstrating our disciplined approach to capital allocation. We have selectively reinvested through our funds management platform, including co-investments alongside capital partners, creating new assets under management while maintaining a capital efficient growth profile. We will continue to take a disciplined approach to capital allocation and recycling to support long-term security holder value. Turning to capital management, our focus during FY 2026 was on extending debt maturities, maintaining liquidity, and preserving balance sheet flexibility. During the year, we secured AUD 275 million of new bank facilities and extended AUD 220 million of existing facilities with 15 basis points improved margin, leaving us with sufficient liquidity to cover all FY 2027 debt maturities.
Gearing closed at 41.6% within our target range, reflecting our co-investment alongside capital partners in the Growthpoint Macquarie Park Trust and our continued investment in growing the funds management platform. Importantly, we continue to maintain substantial headroom to all banking covenants. As lower cost hedges matured and cash rates remained elevated, our weighted average cost of debt rose modestly from 5% to 5.1%. We have commenced the FY 2027 year with 77% of debt hedged and expect to remain above 60% hedged at the end of FY 2027, even without entering into any additional hedges. Finally, our recently announced AUD 268 million Perth divestment is an example of our capital recycling program and is expected to reduce gearing by around four percentage points following completion. Turning to valuations. Portfolio values were broadly stable during FY 2026.
While valuers adopted modestly higher cap rates, this was largely offset by strong leasing outcomes, higher occupancy, and rental growth. As a result, office values declined only 1.9% and industrial values 0.9%. This demonstrates the resilience of the portfolio's income profile. I would now like to pass to Nick Kost to cover off on our portfolio of directly held high-quality assets.
Thank you, Melinda. Good morning, everyone. It's a pleasure to join you today. Our directly held office and industrial assets continue to provide resilient income-driven returns, supported by proactive management, strong leasing activity, and targeted CapEx. The portfolio benefits from a high caliber tenant profile with almost 70% of the portfolio's income derived from listed companies and government tenants. With strong leasing performance in FY 2026, the portfolio ended the year with an occupancy of 96% and future expiries well staggered into the medium term. Moving to slide 14, the team's efforts and asset management expertise is clear. In FY 2026, we achieved record office leasing, which was an outstanding result, particularly considering the challenging macroeconomic environment.
Across the direct office portfolio, these leasing results included take-up of 81,000 sq m of space across 48 transactions with an average lease term of seven and a half years, representing 22% of the office portfolio's income. This leasing success has increased office occupancy by 3% to 95%, well above the market average of 83%. We are also pleased that our hands-on, customer-focused approach is resulting in high levels of satisfaction across the portfolio. In our FY 2026 tenant survey, Growthpoint achieved a landlord satisfaction rating of 8.2 out of 10, above the industry benchmark of 7.2. Our commitment to partnering with new and existing tenants and our focus on delivering attractive workplaces is resulting in strong leasing outcomes. During the year, we worked with a number of our existing tenants to renew or relocate them within the portfolio.
We were pleased to renew Samsung across 13,000 sq m at 3 Murray Rose Avenue, Sydney Olympic Park. We renewed Monash University across 7,000 sq m at Wellington Road, Mulgrave, and worked closely with EPEC Group, relocating them within our South Brisbane portfolio, doubling their tenancy footprint to just over 3,000 sq m . We also welcomed new high caliber tenants into the portfolio, including Myer Group, who relocated their national head office from the Docklands to 75 Dorcas Street, South Melbourne. We facilitated Compass Education's move to 109 Burwood Road, Hawthorn, and welcomed El Jannah to 5 Murray Rose Avenue, Sydney Olympic Park. Throughout FY 2026, 69% of office leasing transactions completed were with existing portfolio customers, demonstrating the value of Growthpoint's customer-centric approach. Pleasingly, our high-quality industrial portfolio also continues to perform well.
During FY 2026, we completed almost 118,000 sq m of leasing across 11 transactions, equivalent to 24% of the industrial portfolio's income. These transactions had an average lease term of 4.7 years, delivering an average leasing spread of 34.6%. This leasing activity ensured that the portfolio has continued to maintain strong occupancy of 98%. While the WALE has reduced marginally from 5.8 to 5.6 years, the activity throughout the year has significantly de-risked the portfolio, with vacancies and future expiries now sitting at 4% or less per annum over the next three years. As with the office portfolio, our customer-centric approach continues to deliver positive outcomes across the industrial portfolio. During the year, we welcomed Qantas into an 11,000 sq m warehouse at Perth Airport and Panda Mart into a 13,000 sq m tenancy at Raglan Street, Preston.
We renewed existing customers Workwear Group and Jaguar Land Rover at Melbourne Airport and Linfox at Lenore Drive, Erskine Park. We also facilitated our existing customer, IVE Group, taking new warehouse space in Perth. The leasing outcomes achieved this year across both our office and industrial portfolios has demonstrated an ongoing demand for high quality, well-located assets. We were pleased to work with existing customers to extend our relationships and welcome new high caliber customers into the portfolio. I'll now hand back to Ross.
Thank you, Nick. Growing through funds management remains a key pillar of our strategy. At the 30th of June, through our funds management platform, we managed approximately AUD 1.2 billion of assets on behalf of institutional and wholesale investors across nine unlisted funds. The platform is diversified across the office, industrial, and retail sectors, where we are able to leverage the same property leasing and asset management expertise that supports our directly held portfolio. Our ability to source opportunities, actively manage assets, and co-invest alongside our partners remains a key competitive advantage. We continue to see funds management as a meaningful lever for capital efficient growth as market conditions improve. In FY 2026, our focus was on delivering both new assets under management and facilitating fund exits as funds reach the end of their investment terms.
During the year, we created approximately AUD 125 million in new AUM, adding to the AUD 328 million that was created in FY 2025, despite elevated market volatility and softer transaction activity. This included expanding the Growthpoint Australia Logistics Partnership with a AUD 24 million industrial acquisition, establishing the AUD 101 million Growthpoint Macquarie Park Trust to acquire an A-grade office asset in Sydney's largest near city market. We are committed to returning investor capital to our syndicate investors and capital partners and facilitated liquidity for investors in line with investment terms with AUD 331 million of divestments. We continue to be active in market with a clear strategy focused on investing in our specialist sectors, targeting assets between AUD 50 million and AUD 250 million, and partnering with both institutional and wholesale syndicate investors.
Whilst growth has been more measured in the current environment, we continue to see funds management as a long-term opportunity for Growthpoint, and we will succeed by leveraging our key points of difference that include our customer engagement, our capital position, and most importantly, our capability. Our strategy is consistent and clear. Growing through funds partnerships underpinned by income-driven returns from our directly held high quality real estate assets. Execution is guided by our strategic pillars to deliver portfolio performance, grow with like-minded partners, maintain an efficient capital allocation through cycles, and pursue sustainable future-proofing for our stakeholders. As we look ahead, we are optimistic about the structural imbalance between demand, supply, and cost across our markets. Employment growth remains a structural tailwind for demand, while future supply across many of our markets is expected to remain constrained.
The economic rents required to justify new development, particularly in the office sector, remain well above in-place rents, which is acting as a meaningful barrier to the creation of new supply. At the same time, we are seeing existing stock withdrawn for alternative uses, particularly living and data center conversions across a number of office markets. Together, these dynamics are expected to tighten vacancy rates over the medium term and support conditions that support rental growth. In the near term, market-wide office vacancy does remain elevated and industrial vacancy has increased for FY 2026. However, it does remain below long-term averages. The leasing that we have completed in FY 2026 to create a significantly reduced new term expiry profile positions Growthpoint well against this backdrop. A key topic receiving increasing attention is the potential impact of AI on office demand.
Whilst we continue to assess the implications of AI, around 85% of our income is derived from head office and government or public service tenancies, which we believe provides insulation from major AI disruption. Consistent with this, our tenant survey recently found that 63% of our tenants expect to require the same or more space as a result of AI. While certainly a small proportion anticipate requiring less. Further, our exposure to industries most expecting downsizing, namely financial and professional services and IT, is only 11% of our portfolio exposure. We have historically achieved above-market occupancy and will seek to maintain this by continuing to deliver attractive workplaces that meet tenant demands into the future. Our strategic priorities for FY 2027 and beyond build on the strong base we have established, driving portfolio performance to support income-driven returns and growing our funds management business.
We'll maintain our leasing focus with particular focus across our funds management assets and our Queensland direct office portfolio. We'll continue to seek new partnerships across office, industrial and retail, and deliver liquidity for investors in funds nearing the end of their investment terms. Disciplined balance sheet management will support future fund growth as we allocate capital to support new co-investment in funds, ensuring alignment with our unlisted fund investors and allowing Growthpoint security holders to benefit from the underlying fund performance. Our sustainability focus continues, and we're on track to deliver our first mandatory climate report in FY 2027. Finally, we'll keep investing in our people and systems to support the business as it grows. We are well-placed to navigate the ongoing macroeconomic volatility and high-interest rate environment as we enter FY 2027 with high occupancy, significantly reduced lease expiry profile, and available liquidity to cover all FY 2027 maturities.
We're providing FY 2027 FFO guidance of AUD 22.6 cps-AUD 23.5 cps , which reflects the impact of ongoing elevated interest rate on earnings. FY 2027 distribution guidance is AUD 18.4 cps . Over the past two years, the board and management have taken a disciplined approach to the management of debt. In FY 2027, we're continuing this focus by undertaking a review of our capital management plan to ensure ongoing balance sheet flexibility to execute our strategy. This includes the consideration of a distribution reinvestment plan for FY 2027 distributions and a review of the target distribution payout ratio to apply in future years. Capital recycling will continue to play an important role in supporting our capital management objectives. I'd like to thank our team for their dedication and contribution to our performance in FY 2026, and I'd also like to thank our tenants, suppliers and other key stakeholders for their continued support.
Thank you for your participation today. I would like to open to questions either online or via the call. You can please direct questions to me in the first instance. Thank you.
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question via the phone line, you will need to press the star key followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you wish to ask a question via the webcast, please enter it into the Ask a Question box and click Submit. Your first question comes from Howard Penny from Citi. Please go ahead.
Thank you very much. My first question is just around lease expiry FY 2027 and FY 2028. As you said, it has been de-risked very well, but there is still 8% in FY 2027 and 5% in FY 2028. Could you give us any insight into those expiries and potential strategies for those as far as possible?
Yeah, thanks for the question, Howard. I will pass over to Nick. As you point out, we have got 8% in FY 2026. A lot of that is at the back end of the financial year, but Nick will talk through what the major exposures are there.
Thanks, Howard. FY 2027, majority of that expiry profile sits in the office portfolio. As we sit today, pleasingly, we have addressed 45% of that unsecured income in FY 2027, and that is across three of our large lease expiries, office building in Perth, and two of our larger industrial buildings. In addition to that 45%, we have got about 19%, which is well progressed under heads of agreement. As we stand today, we are at sort of 64% of that unsecured FY 2027 income well progressed. So, continuing to focus on that obviously, but we have got a good start at this stage.
I think the major ones we have got coming through at the back end there, Howard, is at 100 Skyring Terrace, and 15 Green Square Close, where we have got about 12,000-13,000 meters of office expiry coming through in the last four months of the financial year.
Great. Thank you very much. The leasing has been very strong this last period. Is there any insight you can give us into the type of incentives or how those negotiations have been going to achieve those strong results?
Yeah, I think the lease incentives, Howard, we have disclosed in the presentation. We had an average incentive during the year of about 31% on gross rents in the office space. I think the general theme that we have seen, which has been pleasing in some of the inquiries, particularly at the large end, is probably the upsizing inquiries through the negotiation. When I say that is the upsizing of space. So I think what we are finding is on the journey where the tenants' floor spaces are starting out and where they are finishing, is tending to increase over that negotiation period.
Thank you very much. The last question from me is just one last question just on funds under management appetite. It has been a tricky time for investment markets generally, but are you seeing any areas of specific investor demand across your options?
Yeah, I think we are pretty optimistic. At this time last year, Howard, as we are coming into a rate cutting environment, and then as we started the back half of the financial year from February onwards, with the combination of interest rates are moving in a different direction, and geopolitical uncertainty from the Middle East has certainly weighed on investor confidence for decision making. We are continuing to evaluate opportunities across the three sectors being office, industrial, and retail. We are probably finding some reemergence of demand from institutional investors on the office side. We are working across opportunities in retail and industrial with wholesale investors as well.
Well, thank you, Ross and team, and congrats on the results.
Thank you, Howard.
Thank you. Your next question comes from Callum Bramah from Macquarie. Please go ahead.
Morning, Ross and team. I was hoping you could just give us a little bit of a better understanding of the guidance range. I think it's about a 4% guidance range. Can you just give me an idea of things that are likely to drive you towards the top of that or, where you see some risk? I guess given that on that basis, you seem to have addressed or de-risked a lot of the expiry in office.
Yeah, thanks, Callum. I will start, and Melinda might jump in as we go, but we have got a range there that is a AUD 0.9 cent range. Really for the moving parts that we have got during this year, there is still leasing to undertake, particularly across the office portfolio, and there are various outcomes that can be driven there that put us towards either end of that range. Additionally, there are opportunities within the funds management side of the business. Within our guidance, we have assumed levels that are similar to FY 2025, and either outperformance or underperformance of that can have impacts on the guidance range as well. They are probably the key moving parts as to where we go. Do not you have anything to add there, Melinda?
Just probably on the rate side. We are expecting them to come in broadly in line with today's three-month Bank Bill Swap . Yeah, hoping that it stays around that point.
Okay. Just to clarify what you said about Ross, what you said about funds. You are assuming that you do get a little bit of growth in this year in new FUM or AUM growth?
Yep.
Is that via winning new FUM or it is just revaluations?
That is through creation of new products. Callum?
Could you just elaborate a little bit more? I heard your comment about the DRP and payout ratio, and I read it in the annual report. Can you just give us a little bit of an idea of how you are thinking about what the appropriate payout ratio might be, and how far you would take it, I guess? Also, when you will be in a position maybe to make a decision on the DRP, because it is not currently in place, is it?
That is right. At the moment, probably we are not in a position to say too much at the moment, Callum. We are mindful to put it on notice for investors as part of our full year messaging. Thinking about what a future payout ratio or any proposed amendments to it is not in a position to step through that at this point in time. In relation to the FY 2027 DRP, currently the DRP is not active and the next distribution period is coming through in December. We will look to make a decision obviously prior to that distribution period coming up in December and then communicate any other objectives through the course of FY 2027.
Okay. Maybe I could ask just two more. One, just to clarify, in relation to the office expiry that is known for 2027, the 8%, is there any known departures within that?
Yes, there is. The primary ones are at 100 Skyring Terrace in Queensland. We are expecting about an 8,000-meter departure. I think that is the space, isn't it, Nick?
Yep.
In the second half of the year. We have got another one at 15 Green Square Close. We are expecting about a 4,000-meter departure late in the year. Are there any other major ones within that, Nick?
We have got some space at 52—104 Melbourne, sorry, where there is a tenant that is known to be vacating at the back end of the year.
Okay. Then maybe just my last one. Just any expect. Excuse me. I will try again. Can you give us just a little bit of guidance around 2027 on kind of maintenance CapEx and leasing CapEx, et cetera? What are your expectations there in dollar values?
I won't go to complete dollar values for FY 2027. We don't provide that as part of our guidance. We are expecting an increase in leasing CapEx relative to FY 2026. Probably the key thing to point out there, we did a substantial amount of leasing in FY 2026, but a lot of it does apply to the FY 2027 period. The costs that come through for both lease incentives and capital upgrades that have been undertaken to generate that occupancy, we're likely to see that push through in FY 2027 to a greater extent than FY 2026.
Okay. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time.
Thanks, Callum.
Thank you. Your next question comes from Murray Connellan from Moelis Australia. Please go ahead.
Morning, Ross and team. Just to follow up on the discussion that you've just had with Callum on capital management, et cetera. Obviously, the divestment of the DC in Perth unlocks a little bit more balancing capacity for you. I was just wondering how you're thinking about that, how you're thinking about appropriate gearing levels at the moment, and I guess prospects for further asset sales there.
Yeah. Thanks, Murray. Obviously, that was an important divestment for us. I think it achieved a few objectives, that particular divestment. It's obviously a significant asset that has a bit of over-concentration perhaps for us in some respects, and we're just on the pathway to completing the second or third expansion of that particular facility. We feel it's a mature asset, that it's the appropriate time to divest it as part of our journey, and given it's a larger asset, it does make a meaningful impact to our gearing. I think, yeah, we start the year within our target gearing range. We want to be in a position where we've got maximum flexibility to execute on our strategy.
There's no further comments on the guidance range at this point in time, but we're looking to manage within it and towards the lower end to give us that flexibility to execute our strategy.
Got it. Thanks, Ross.
Thank you. Once again, if you wish to ask a question via the phones, please press star one and wait for your name to be announced. If you do wish to ask a question via the webcast, please enter it into the ask a question box and click submit. Your next question comes from Adam West from JPMorgan. Please go ahead.
Hi, Ross. I just had a couple of quick questions on leasing and office leasing in particular. Could you first just talk to, I guess, how many of those leases you did were upsizing space versus downsizing?
Do you want to, I will let Nick go on that. Thanks, Adam.
Adam, on the office portfolio, 88% of the leases completed were either the same amount of space or more. So definitely showing a positive trend rather than decreasing in space. We only had three tenants reducing in size across the renewals.
I guess just turning to the appendix, your survey that you did on AI, just looking at it. So, there's 11% of tenants that sort of think it may lead to less space. I guess, can you perhaps provide some color on any other industries outside of financial services and IT that would be a watch for you guys?
I think they're really the primary ones for us. The segmentation of those particular sectors has come from independent research that we've picked up during the year, as opposed to our own classification of those industries. So, I believe that reference was to a Green Street research report that picked out those particular industry segments as the ones that are most likely to have impact.
Yeah. No, that's clear. I guess, could you provide any color from your survey in particular of the tenants that were more likely to take less space?
I think most of that's actually confidential through our surveys, Adam, in order to generate fulsome disclosure so we don't get the complete segmentation that comes through there or the specific tenants.
Yeah. No, that's fair enough. I guess, do you think as, like what type of assets would you be targeting, I guess, for recycling opportunities into a further funds management stream for your portfolio? Or do you think that's largely done for now?
I think in the short term, that's less likely. I think where we're looking at recycling during FY 2027, Adam, is probably where there's assets that have a higher CapEx load over the next few years, or future leasing risks. So that's, with the mind to capital management. It's not just the current recycling, but where there's also a CapEx load over the next couple of years.
Yep. Perfect. Thanks for that.
Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I'll now hand back to Mr. Ross Lees for any closing remarks.
Well, thank you, everyone, for joining us on the call today. We look forward to engaging with you over the next few weeks.
That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.