LondonMetric has reported a 27 per cent leap in profits on the back of a strong portfolio performance in the year ended 31 March.
The retail and distribution property specialist saw profits jump from the 2014 total of £125.3 million to a whopping £159.5 million as gross rental income increased by 19.5 per cent, helped by 50 occupier transactions secured over 2.6 million sq ft.
LondonMetric enjoyed an 18.8 per cent return from its portfolio, which is valued at £1.4 billion –an increase of 14.8 per cent over the year. The Group invested a total of £597.6 million in the acquisition of 20 assets, while completing £288.7 million worth of disposals.
In terms of development, the Group expects its distribution schemes in Islip and Warrington to be completed within 4-5 months, with conditional schemes in Bedford and Stoke adding to its pipeline.
Patrick Vaughn, Chairman of LondonMetric, commented: “The strong performance over the past year is a result of our ability to align the business to the winning segments within retail, specifically distribution and convenience shopping.
“Distribution is now our largest sector and this will increase as our existing and pipeline developments progress.”
He continued to say that the company has taken advantage of a strong property market to sell some industrial assets at very attractive prices and is well positioned financially to keep the portfolio fit for the future.
Chief Executive Andrew Jones added that, in light of the changing occupier landscape, LondonMetric will continue to align its assets to the needs of retailers and remain ‘rational and disciplined’ in the selection of stock and the allocation of capital.
In a separate statement released today, the company has announced that it has added to its convenience retail portfolio with the acquisition of five M&S Simply Food stores for £26 million.
Following the deal, the company immediately re-geared the leases of four of the properties to new 20 year leases while the fifth, a two unit property, has been let to M&S and Aldi for 15 and 20 years respectively.
“The convenience food sector is continuing to grow at the expense of the traditional larger foodstores and we will look to increase our exposure to this sub-sector in expectation of sustainable rental growth and further yield compression,” said Andrew Jones.
“These transactions with M&S are further evidence of the quality of our relationship[p with the UK’s leading retailers and our ability to work alongside them as their real estate partner of choice.”
