"There are so many good things happening in London that some of it can't help rubbing off on us," says Brian Bickell, chief executive of Shaftesbury (SHB). The West End landlord can afford such self-deprecation because its strategy of regenerating London's tourist heartlands has delivered consistent rental growth over the years.
During the 12 months to end-September the estimated rental value of the estate - the annual amount it would fetch if it was let at current market rents - grew by 6 per cent to £106m. That includes income from acquisitions totalling £28m; strip those out and the like-for-like growth was 4.5 per cent. This, combined with the feverish intensity of the central London property market, pushed the group's portfolio valuation up by 9.5 per cent - above the three-year average of 7.4 per cent. The company's adjusted book value, which is effectively a geared play on the portfolio value, increased by 14 per cent to 567p a share.
However, the company's adjusted profit was about 1 per cent lower than the previous year, leaving its dividends temporarily uncovered. That's partly because Shaftesbury did an unusual amount of refurbishment work - 50 projects covering 9 per cent of its total floor area.
Broker Liberum Capital expects adjusted book value to rise to 599p for the year to end-September 2014.
SHAFTESBURY (SHB) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 630p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.59bn | |
| TOUCH: | 629-630p | 12-MONTHHIGH: | 670p | LOW: 547p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.0% | TRADING PROP: | nil | |
| PREMIUM TO NAV: | 20% | |||
| INVESTMENT PROP: | £2.05bn | NET DEBT: | 45% | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 316 | -58.0 | -31.3 | 12.3 |
| 2010 | 380 | 172 | 73.6 | 10.3 |
| 2011 | 421 | 116 | 47.4 | 11.3 |
| 2012 | 445 | 94.8 | 37.1 | 12.0 |
| 2013 | 527 | 242 | 95.0 | 12.5 |
| % change | +18 | +155 | +156 | +4 |
Ex-div: 22 Jan Payment: 14 Feb | ||||
