Property developer is targeting the defensive supermarket sector, announcing alongside its full-year results last week that it has bought two sites for food store developments, and is applying for planning on a third.
"There's strong demand for sites, there's strong investor demand for the end product, and they sign long leases," said chief executive Philip Leech. Pre-letting discussions are already under way, and he expects to announce deals in the first half of this year. The results demonstrated that net asset value (NAV) fell 24 per cent in the period, but has remained static since April's half-year figures. And, as Terrace Hill's year-end was in October, these results don't capture the full extent of the property market rebound in late 2009.
The long-running refinancing has been completed, too, but a £22m writedown on trading properties resulted in a £26.7m pre-tax loss. The group's residential portfolio fell in value by just 2.5 per cent over the period and management is "actively considering" a fund launch.
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DATE: 6/11/09
