Leeds-based investor Town Centre Securities has ended its financial year with 95% occupancy and an increase in like-for-like (LFL) passing rent of 4.1%.
Since February, it has completed acquisitions in Manchester and Chiswick, London, as well as one sale in Edinburgh.
It said LFL passing rent was boosted by increased rent from Leeds City Council in Merrion House, following a refurbishment and extension.
The £70m project was TCS’s largest development scheme to date and one of the largest ever prelets in the city.
The subdivision of a vacant unit in Milngavie, Scotland, also helped to boost LFL passing rent. Excluding these two items, underlying LFL passing rent was up 1.9%.
Edward Ziff, chairman and chief executive, said: “Turning the Merrion Centre into a true mixed-use asset and continuing to lower our exposure to retail has helped ensure we have been protected from the worst of the turmoil on the high street.”
Leeds and Manchester combined now make up 73% of the company’s portfolio.
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In Manchester, the company said it had made significant progress on its largest development in the city, Piccadilly Basin.
In May, it bought Ducie House from Urban Splash for £9m. The acquisition of the building, based on the fringe of Manchester’s Northern Quarter in Piccadilly Basin, is the property investor’s fifth deal in the area.
It currently has a mixture of retail, commercial and residential developments in the city, including Urban Exchange, Carver’s Warehouse and Burlington House.
Ziff added: “The opportunity for growth that sits within our development pipeline, combined with the recent updating and renewal of our banking facilities put us in a great position to focus on the next phase of our growth.”
In the last six months, the company has extended or renewed all its bank debt facilities, including extending its £33m facility with RBS by a further year to 2021.
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