Property values in central London are in a different value bracket to the rest of the country, and Capital & Counties (CAPC) has two jewels in its estates at Covent Garden and Earls Court. Both benefited last year from a further uplift in property values and rental income, underpinned by strong demand for premium sites.
Covent Garden's valuation grew by 19 per cent to £1.16bn, while its estimated rental value (ERV) - the amount of rent it would generate if all leases were marked to market rates - rose by 11 per cent to £58m. With no sign of any let up in the race for premium space, chief executive Ian Hawksworth now expects ERV to rise to £75m by the end of 2016. A total of 12 new retail and restaurant outlets were signed up during the year, including Dior Beauty and Burberry Beauty Box.
Although slightly smaller in valuation terms, Capco's interests in the vast Earls Court housebuilding scheme (Transport for London owns the freehold and Capco is the leaseholder) were marked up 25 per cent to £934m. Included in that is Lillie Square, where the valuation jumped 31 per cent to £153m and a launch date is expected shortly for the construction of 808 apartments.
Broker Morgan Stanley is forecasting adjusted net asset value of 328p a share at the year-end, up from 249p last December.
| CAPITAL & COUNTIES PROPERTIES (CAPC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 388p | MARKET VALUE: | £2.94bn | |
| TOUCH: | 388-389p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 386p | LOW: 252p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.4% | TRADING PROPERTIES: | £115m | |
| PREMIUM TO NAV: | 62% | NET DEBT: | 18% | |
| INVESTMENT PROPERTIES: | £2.05bn | |||
| Year to 31 Dec | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010* | 142 | 133 | 21.2 | 1.5 |
| 2011 | 162 | 162 | 23.9 | 1.5 |
| 2012 | 196 | 219 | 29.9 | 1.5 |
| 2013 | 239 | 347 | 44.1 | 1.5 |
| % change | +22 | +58 | +47 | - |
Ex-div: 21 May Payment: 19 Jun *Capital & Counties demerged from Liberty International on 10 May 2010 | ||||
