London is one of the world's top tourist destinations, attracting 18.7m overseas visitors last year. Meanwhile, the city's population is expected to rise from 8.6m to 10m over the next 20 years. And the West End is the capital's leisure hub, attracting 315m visits last year, with an annual visitor spend of £11bn. So with more than 570 shops and restaurants, cafés and pubs extending over 1m sq ft in the West End, Shaftesbury (SHB) is in the right place at the right time.
IC TIP:
Buy
at
911p
Tip style
Value
Risk rating
Low
Timescale
Long Term
Bull points
- Strong rental growth
- Low level of debt
- Limited development exposure
- Very low vacancy rate
Bear points
- Modest dividend payout
- Net asset value growth set to slow
And things could get even better for Shaftesbury. Six underground stations currently serve the area and handled 245m passengers last year. The opening of two new Crossrail stations in two years' time is expected to boost capacity by 10 per cent.