Proactive Investors - Grainger Plc (LON:GRI) reported slower rental growth for recent months and said it expects further slowing in the coming year.
The FTSE 250-listed private landlord, which owns around 12,000 homes, said rental growth was 6.3% in the year ending 30 September 2024 on a like-for-like basis.
This was down from 8.1% LFL private rental sector growth it reported for the first half of its financial year and the 7.3% seen in its 2023 year.
For the new financial year, the group's last before becoming a real estate investment trust (REIT), chief executive Helen Gordon said, "whilst we expect rental growth to ameliorate somewhat, we still expect levels to be above the long-term historic average".
Grainger added more than 1,100 homes to its portfolio this year and Gordon said the company's pipeline of developments and deals will double its rental income compared to last year.
She said rental growth in the year to September 2025 should be underpinned by good UK wage growth, with affordability "healthy" and that the rental market is experiencing "rapidly accelerating growth in demand" amidst constrained supply.
Gordon welcomed the new Labour government's public opposition to introducing rent controls in favour of stimulating the housing supply-side via planning reforms and the Renters' Rights Bill, with the company also "proactively engaged on" new legislation in the works.
Shares in Grainger will flat at 245p mid-morning on Monday, down more than 7% in the year to date.