The Investment Property Databank made a pretax profit of £2.76m in 2011 – a 3.4% increase on the previous year, as growth in Europe slowed.
In its annual report for the year to 31 December 2011, the company – which provides services in 32 countries and has indices covering 25 – said turnover rose by 8.8% to nearly £30m.
In line with the previous year, the UK contributed almost half of this total, delivering £14.9m, followed by continental Europe on £10.3m and the rest of the world with £4.5m.
Finance director Alasdair Evans said growth was “steady” in the UK at 8.9%.
He added: “The problems in the eurozone seen from the middle of 2011 had an impact, however, and we saw slower growth in continental European revenue of just 2.5%.”
In the rest of the world, revenue growth was much stronger, at 26%. Because IPD’s market coverage is lower in these markets, it was flagged as an area of “greater potential”, particularly the emerging markets of South America and southern Africa.
Debt data is another growth area, with the company saying it will be expanding its influential Giliberto-Levy commercial mortgage performance index in the US to the UK and Europe.
Shareholders – of which just less than 50% are institutional fund managers, property companies and property services firms – received a dividend of £50 a share, which is paid out twice a year.
The balance of the shareholding is split between IPD directors and employees, including founders Rupert Nabarro and Ian Cullen.
This group upped its stake to more than 50% of the company in 2011 after 45 directors and employees bought Invista Real Estate Investment Management’s 5% stake in the company for £1.35m.
In total the IPD employs 333 people. The highest paid of the group’s 11 directors took home £192,000, down from £213,500 in 2010.
