by Denis Hall
A slump in the profits of NFC’s property company, Hyperion, has forced the group to abandon plans to buy more development sites in the UK.
The move coincides with the replacement of Henry Lafferty as managing director by Roger Mann. Edwin Davies — previously responsible for joint schemes — will now handle development work, while John Howell becomes the director responsible for international projects.
The change in strategy is prompted by the fall in Hyperion’s profits from £13.9m for the first threequarters of last year to £3.2m for the same period this year.
Faced with poor tenant demand and little investor interest, NFC has decided that Hyperion should concentrate on redeveloping properties within its £360m UK portfolio and advising on the management of the group’s property assets here and abroad.
Hyperion currently holds properties in Spain, Belgium, Germany and France. The company has recently opened an office in Columbus, Ohio, to advise on its American property assets.
The company is determined to complete its existing joint ventures in the UK, but difficulties at two of its larger schemes look set to compound Hyperion’s problems.
The 6.9m-sq ft redevelopment of King’s Cross, N1, by NFC, Rosehaugh and Stanhope has been further postponed by the Government’s delay in announcing the location of the Channel Tunnel terminal.
Camden Labour Group’s opposition, and merger discussions between Rosehaugh and Stanhope, have added to the uncertainty.
Hyperion’s attempts to develop, with the Property Trust, a 10.5-acre site next to Bristol’s Temple Meads Station also face delays. In January Bristol Development Corporation threw out the partnership’s proposals for 600,000 sq ft of offices. The corporation is now promoting its own plans for the site. The judgment of a public inquiry on the proposals by Hyperion and the Property Trust is expected this autumn.
