The Crown Estate’s property portfolio has hit a historic high of £11.5bn.
The value of the portfolio was up 16.7% in its full-year results for the year to the end of March as the company increased its development activity in the West End of London and focused on significant asset management improvements to existing assets.
It will continue to focus on a West End development programme next year that has helped it to increase its returns for 2014/15 to 20.8% and deliver a profit of £285.1m.
The Crown worked on a number of joint ventures over the financial year, notably the £345.5m purchase of Fosse shopping centre in Leicester with Gingko Tree.
Paul Clark, director of investment and asset management at the Crown Estate, said this had helped the company invest in projects that it would not otherwise have had the capital to be involved in. To date, the company has worked with more than £1.5bn in capital from its joint venture partners and Clark described joint ventures as a “significant part of what we do.”
With West End yields at or near record levels and restrictions on supply in the area, Clark saw the development of West End retail with partners such as Norges Bank as the route to continuing strong returns into 2016.
In addition, the company will look to increase its portfolio of rural land for housing and prime regional retail to maintain a strong level of returns.
Including the latest figures, the Crown’s returns, at 17.3%, outpaced the benchmark IPD figures by 2.1% over the past three years.
