The value of the Duchy of Lancaster, which comprises 46,000 acres across England and Wales, has risen almost 8% to £348m.
The Queen’s national property portfolio which provides the monarch with a private income, posted the increase in its results to the 31 March 2010 released today.
It also announced plans for a number of new developments across the estate which last year dropped in value by £75m – or around one fifth – to £322m.
The company made a profit of £13.26m – matching that of the previous year – which is delivered to the Keeper of the Privy Purse.
Net operating income of £12.9m was down 7.8% from an “exceptional” £13.9m in 2009 according to chief executive and clerk of the council Paul Clarke, CVO. Total gross income was £17m.
The Duchy’s commercial property portfolio, which accounts for 43.2% of the estate’s total value, rose from £118m in 2009 to £150m.
Debt increased from £6m to £31m due to a £25m unsecured loan used to buy the Tower Bridge Business Park in London.
In its Savoy Estate – the single most valuable block of property in the Duchy of Lancaster – the company has teamed up with Greycoat to bring forward a 35,000 sq ft office scheme at Wellington House on the corner of Strand and Lancaster Place.
Chief executive and clerk of the council, Paul Clarke, CVO, said it is working on design and viability work and is planning to bring forward the scheme to take advantage of the lack of supply in 2012/2013.
The Duchy has also teamed up with leisure operator Rural Retreats to develop 50 holiday lodges at the Duke of Lancaster Park site in Lancashire by 2011.
The total return from the commercial, agricultural and financial portfolio, on a unitised basis, was 11.9% compared with 15.6% last year. This was split between a net income yield of 4% and capital growth of 7.9%.
Income growth per unit was down by 7.8% because of the expiry of leases and the refurbishment of previously income producing property on the Savoy Estate in London, as well as a reduction in yield within the financial portfolio.
bridget.oconnell@estatesgazette.com
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