Improved occupancy at Town Centre Securities

Improved occupancy rates, helped by lettings to the retailers Marks & Spencer and Go Outdoors, contributed to an improvement in profits at northern England-focused property group Town Centre Securities.In the year to 30 June, underlying pre-tax profits climbed to £8.2m from £7.6m. The final dividend was unchanged at 7.34p.Overall occupancy levels increased to 96.9% from 93.2%."Our results reflect our emphasis on securing income for shareholders and the returns we have made by investing in our existing portfolio," chairman and chief executive Edward Ziff said. "We remain cautious about the economy however and are wary of the potential for tenant failures and pressure on rental levels."Town Centre Securities has residential, office and retail properties. Its portfolio includes the Merrion Centre in Leeds and the Central Retail Park in Rochdale."We believe the prospective -44% discount to NAV for this carefully managed company represents good value," said analysts at Peel Hunt.