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LONDON (Alliance News) - Property developer Capital & Regional PLC on Friday said its pretax profit rose in 2015, and it announced it had purchased a further property in Hemel Hempstead for GBP10.5 million and selected Barratt London as its preferred development partner for the proposed extension of The Mall in Walthamstow.
Capital & Regional said pretax profit was GBP97.6 million in the year ended December 30, up from GBP67.2 million the previous year. As such, the company more than doubled its full-year dividend to 3.12 pence, ahead of previous guidance, and up from 0.95p in 2014.
Capital & Regional said profit was pushed higher by an increase in revenue from continuing operations, up at GBP80.7 million from GBP46.6 million the previous year, and from the revaluation of its investment properties, which produced a GBP68.0 million gain against GBP36.9 million in 2014.
Capital & Regional said its net asset value per share increased 20% to 72 pence from 60p a year earlier. It added its occupancy continued to grow, at 97.1% at December 30 up from 96.1% the previous year.
The group also announced it had purchased the Edmonds Parade property in Hemel Hempstead for GBP10.5 million, increasing its interest in the town centre, having previously purchased The Marlowes Shopping Centre in February for GBP35.5 million.
Capital & Regional said that since the year end, Barratt London, part of the Barratt Developments PLC group, has been selected as preferred development partner for the extension of the Walthamstow scheme to deliver 92,000 square feet of new retail space and over 400 residential units. This is part of Capital & Regional's GBP65.0 million Mall Capex plan.
It said there is currently limited visibility for 2016.
"Operationally, this has been an important year for Capital & Regional. We have consolidated and grown our portfolio through progress on the delivery of the Capex programme, and our entrepreneurial approach to acquisitions has enabled us to further showcase the depth of our asset management capabilities," said Chief Executive Hugh Scott-Barrett.
"The progress on the extension and the selection of Barratt London as preferred development partner is an endorsement of the potential of Walthamstow. This allied with the potential of our investments in Hemel Hempstead and identification of additional opportunities within the rest of our portfolio, over and above our existing GBP65 million plan, provides us with a strong platform for growth to drive further shareholder value," Scott-Barrett said.
Shares in Capital & Regional were down 0.8% at 62.50p on Friday morning.
By Hannah Boland; hannahboland@alliancenews.com; @Hannaheboland
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