GPE has posted a record leasing performance in it latest results, as its chief executive told shareholders the recovery in London’s office market continues.
The FTSE 250 group, which is intensifying its focus on offering flexible workspace in its £1.1bn development programme, sealed £38.5m in new annual rent across almost 22 deals and 521,000 sq ft in the year to 31 March.
It now has £9.4m of lettings under offer, 2.5% ahead of March 2022 ERV, and a further £32m in negotiation. The company also has some £1bn of new acquisitions in its sights, mostly off-market.
The company turned last year’s £202m loss into a profit of £166.7m.
Chief executive Toby Courtauld said: “Whilst we expect macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainties to persist in the near term, dampening growth, the conditions we highlighted at our interims in November and which had kick-started the post-pandemic recovery in London’s economy and its property markets, remain in evidence today.
“London is substantially busier than this time last year with office workers and shoppers returning, Crossrail is about to open, job vacancies are rising and inward investment into income yielding real estate is up. Plus, we expect weaker sentiment and cost inflation in the short term, along with further tightening in the planning environment, to impact the appetite for development risk, choking off the supply of new office space, intensifying the already acute shortage as customers continue their flight to quality.”
GPE posted a 6.1% rise in its portfolio valuation to £2.6bn, with offices up by almost 8% and retail flat. Rental value rose by 3%.
Total property return stood at 9.4%, with net tangible assets of 835p per share up by by 7.2% from a year earlier.
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