Valuation fall pushes Soho Estates deeper into the red

An almost £60m reduction in the value of its investment properties saw Soho Estates fall further into the red in the 12 months ended 31 March 2024. Recently filed accounts for the central London property empire, which is controlled by the granddaughters of the late Paul Raymond, show a pretax loss of £31.4m. This compared with a loss of just less than £5m a year earlier. The loss was caused almost entirely by a £59.6m negative movement in the value of assets across the firm’s circa 60-acre estate. The accounts show that values in 2023 dropped by just £15.6m. The value of the estate, which includes Ilona Rose House, at 31 March was just over £1.1bn, compared with just less than £1.2bn a year earlier. Turnover at Soho Estates, which is managed by John James and chaired by Steve Norris, reached £40.7m during the period under review, up by 9.7% on the £37.1m achieved in 2023. The accounts also reveal that only 50% of the group’s portfolio is currently compliant with forthcoming changes to EPC regulations, which will require properties to have an EPC of C or above by 2030. Soho Estates said it was continuing to improve the energy efficiency of its buildings through an ongoing refurbishment programme.