Shaftesbury, the property group that owns much of Carnaby Street, Covent Garden and Chinatown, shook off despondency in the wider market as it announced strong rental rises. Financial Times
Rents increased 9.6% in the year to September 30, helping to propel adjusted, diluted net asset value up 9.5% from 590p a year before to 646p.
Jonathan Lane, chief executive, said : 'Everything in our portfolio, offices, residential, restaurants, retail, is very, very successful and we haven’t seen a buoyancy like this across everything as far as I can remember.'
Adjusted pre-tax profit was down 5.7% to £12.7m. The group’s portfolio was valued at £1.39bn (£1.26bn). A final dividend of 5.5p (3.73p) will be paid, making a total pay-out for the year of 7.66p (5.65p).