The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma has just been released. Listen here.
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Of this, £1.5m, representing 1.9% of commercial ERV, was held for or under refurbishment and £1.6m, equivalent to 2.0% of commercial ERV, was available to let. It warned that refurbishment projects meant that properties producing a gross income of £1m per annum would have to be vacated until the summer of 2014.
Like-for-like rental income grew by 3.5% compared with the first half of last year while rents receivable across the group rose by £3.7m to £40.3m. The company declared an interim dividend of 5.95p per share, an increase of 8.2% on last year's interim dividend of 5.50p. Vacant commercial space in its wholly owned portfolio amounted to £3.1m of earnings rental value (ERV), equivalent to 3.9% of commercial ERV.
However, the firm, which owns 500 properties in some of the most sought after retail destinations in West London, said it had been hit by a drop in its property revaluation surplus as well as losses on financial bets. Taking these factors into account saw the company's profits fall 62% to £38.1m.
"London's reputation as a destination of world renown continues to grow, and this summer's major events - the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics - will put the city firmly in the world's spotlight," he said. "These events are a unique opportunity for London to promote its many attractions to a global audience.
The company said that in the six months to the end of March adjusted pre-tax profit was up 15% to £16.1m, with net property income rising 10% to £35.5m. Chief Executive Brian Bickell said that throughout the first half of the financial year Shaftesbury's portfolio had been virtually fully let as demand for West End locations remained healthy.
The West End has defied the retail slump and continues to be busy and prosperous, according to Shaftesbury, the London property firm. The news is in marked contrast to retail news from the rest of the UK, where high streets have been hit hard by the financial crisis.
The Tempus column in The Times ponders which stocks would fit into a share portfolio consisting of stocks exposed to London and the South East only, and suggests that one would be Shaftesbury, the property company whose assets consist almost entirely of shops, restaurants and bars in the West End. Its full-year figures yesterday contained one startling table. Over the past five years, gross income from its property portfolio rose year on year through the recession, up another 13 per cent to £77.5 million. Their estimated rental value showed a slight dip in 2009, but that rising income suggests tenants merely continued to pay over the odds. The shares are unusual in selling at a premium to net assets of 8 per cent above the 463p a share at the end of September, up 11.8 per cent over the year. Still a long-term hold for those who believe the London economy will continue to outperform, reckons Tempus.
Seymour Pierce retained its "buy" recommendation for property group Shaftesbury (SHB) with a 495p target price. The broker believes the company continues to offer investors exposure to the "most robust sector of the UK commercial property market, the Central London economy," where rents are rising and occupancy is high. With tourism set to be enhanced by both the Royal Wedding and the Olympics, Seymour thinks the business will benefit from the value of its portfolio
shows trading in a range between 309 - 327p - - - - - http://quote.barchart.com/texpert.asp?sym=SHB.LS&code=BSTK