Phoenix Spree tapping demand for Berlin homes

Adjusted net asset value rose by nearly a fifth to €2.73, while on a like-for-like basis rent per square metre rose by 5.3 per cent. Even better, rent on new lettings were up by 7.8 per cent. This helped to lift gross rental income by nearly a third to €15.9m (£13.5m), and the €78.3m spent during the year on 10 Berlin property assets - typically apartment buildings - is expected to boost rental income by around 17.5 per cent. There is also a strong reversionary element, with new leases signed at a 27 per cent premium to in-place rents, while continued demand pushed the vacancy rate down to an all-time low of 2.6 per cent.

The group is also monetising the arbitrage that exists between the value of an apartment block and the value of the individual apartments within it. These are being sold off at an average premium of 62 per cent to the value as part of the apartment block. And more blocks are being acquired with a view to crystallising further gains.

Analysts at Liberum are forecasting adjusted net asset value per share of €2.98 at the December 2017year-end .