Shaftesbury has exploited strong occupier demand in its core West End market to increase its net asset value by 21.9% to £8.69 a share for the year to 30 September.
Brian Bickell, Shaftesbury’s chief executive, said growth had been driven by “relentless demand for space in the West End of London” as the company boosted income across the portfolio by £4.7m.
In total net income for the financial year was £78.8m with vacancy rates down to 1.6% as a measure of the estimated rental value.
Bickell said the company had created a “mid-market innovative offer” across its core Covent Garden, Soho and Chinatown “villages” where it is undertaking development.
Refurbishment helped to boost the portfolio’s value to £3.1bn and create a like-for-like capital return of 18%.
Overall capital expenditure on asset management was £24.7m, or about 10% of the available floor space.
The company continued a policy of not disposing of assets but bought £25.8m of property across its 49-acre estate.
Bickell said that in the valuation report prepared by DTZ – now Cushman & Wakefield – the agent had stated that the strategic location of the assets and cohesive nature of the portfolio made it potentially more valuable than the sum of its parts.
For that reason, the company has long been seen as a desirable platform and takeover target by investors, including existing shareholder Samuel Tak Lee.
Over the year Shaftesbury sought to cut its debt costs and gearing and as a result reduced its loan-to-portfolio value to 22.5%.
