In the final quarter of last year, the developer saw the value of its properties increase by just under £24 million, primarily as a result of the surging demand for office space to rent in London’s West End.
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With buildings right across the British capital, Great Portland Estates is among the largest companies of its kind in the UK but the value of its holdings has generally been falling over the course of recent years.
However, with the value of its offices in the West End having risen by more than four per cent in the final quarter of 2010, the company’s latest balance sheet reflects what is widely considered to be a steady resurgence of demand for offices in central London.
“With the supply of available space to let falling and rents now rising, we expect these supportive conditions to persist throughout 2011,” said Great Portland’s chief executive Toby Courtauld.
“In our own portfolio, activity levels have remained high; we have maintained an encouraging tenant retention rate and a low void rate; we have delivered a number of significant asset management wins; we’ve continued to find accretive acquisitions.”
A deal worth £42.5 million saw Greet Portland Estate take ownership of 20 St James’s Street in SW1 last month and the company recently restructured a London office space leasing agreement with the banking group Intesa Sanpaolo.
According to CB Richard Ellis, the West End of London is the most expensive place in the world to rent office space.
Editor’s notes: In 2022, Great Portland Estate saw revenues of £84.2 million. The real estate company’s portfolio is 100% Central London based with a focus on the West End and saw its portfolio valued at £2.6 billion in 2022, up from £2.5 billion in 2021.
In 2022, the landlord owned 2.5 million square feet of real estate including retail and residential space and has 295 tenants on its roster.