Shaftesbury defies Brexit retail woes as rents boost income
Shaftesbury
421.60p
16:44 03/03/23
Robust demand and consumer spending boosted half year income at West End landlord Shaftesbury, defying the woes that have hit the retail sector due to Brexit.
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The company said net property income rose 5.2% to £48.6m on the back of a 6.4% like-for-like rise in rents, while pre-tax profit slumped 69% to £38.7m as property value growth declined.
Shaftesbury, which owns a portfolio extending to 15.1 acres in the heart of London's West End, lifted the interim dividend 4.8% to 8.7p a share.
Chief executive Brian Bickell said that while macroeconomic uncertainties were " likely to dominate the national mood for some time to come" the medium to long-term outlook for London and the West End remained "strongly positive.”
The company also dismissed as without "any merit" a £10m legal claim from 26% shareholder Samuel Tak Lee over a 2017 share placing.