Property trading group Safeland this week reported a more than tenfold rise in pretax profit but warned that it was getting harder to find stock.
For the year to 31 March, the small quoted firm reported NAV per share up 23%, from 74p to 91p, and pretax profits of £3.5m, up from £257,000 in 2002.
Chairman Raymond Lipman said: “Market conditions are still proving to be extremely difficult, particularly concerning the identification of suitable trading stock.”
He said Safestore’s residential property joint venture had contributed the lion’s share of profits: just under £2.5m (2002: £570,000).
During the year, the company carried out 92 transactions – compared with 78 in 2002. The average deal size was £500,000.
Safeland will not be paying a dividend this year and will be using its profits to buy back shares.
