Shaftesbury upbeat as West End prospers

Shaftesbury issued an upbeat management statement, saying the group had benefited from strong trading in the West End over Christmas and New Year.

Cherry Reynard | 12-02-10 | E-mail Article

The group specialises in West End prime property, which has been the first area of the commercial property market to recover. It said that the West End had an unprecedented number of visitors, with attendances and takings at theatres, cinemas and museums at record levels. This has helped improve tenant demand, particularly for shops and restaurants and the group has continued to secure lettings at or above estimated values.

Vacant commercial space has fallen 21% in the period from the end of September. Shaftesbury has also seen an increase in demand for its office space and the rental value of vacant office space is now at an historic low.

The group issued a bullish outlook, saying that its portfolio should continue to prosper despite the economic uncertainty. It said that the economy of the West End should continue to flourish, bringing improved tenant demand.

In December the group surprised the market by announcing a 7% rise in the value of its overall portfolio, significantly ahead of the benchmark IPD index. It has proved more resilient than much of the real estate sector, but that is reflected in the shares, which tend to trade on a premium to net asset value. They are up 64% over the last 12 months and investors will want to see evidence of further revaluations in the property market to send them significantly higher. Today, the shares were up 1.6% to 385.7p.

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