Shaftesbury looks forward to Crossrail completion – Shaftesbury has posted results for the year ended 30 September 2017 that show that its EPRA NAV rose by 7.2% over the year to 952p and its EPRA earnings per share came in at 16.2p, up 15.7% on the year. The dividend has been increased from 14.7p to 16p.
The total property portfolio was revalued upwards by 7% (like-for-like) to £3.64bn.
The company says that one of the main drivers of earnings growth was the refinancing achieved last year. In addition, net property income increased by 5.0% to GBP88.3 million. much higher business rates kicked in for many of their larger tenants in the year (uplifts of 30%-40%). Shaftesbury say that they have not seen any direct impact on occupancy levels or interest in leasing space. During the year, they concluded £31.1m of leasing transactions, achieving rents for commercial space 6.7% above ERV at the previous year end.
On Crossrail they said “The completion of Crossrail 1 is now a year away, with the first services on the Elizabeth line expected in December 2018. Once fully operational, this important addition to London’s transport network will add 10% to its capacity, and materially improve accessibility to the West End. Over the medium term, we expect the new transport hubs at Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street will result in significant changes to traditional footfall patterns throughout the West End. With all our portfolio in close proximity to these hubs, we anticipate being a major beneficiary of these changes, with a number of our streets expected to see much increased footfall and profile, enhancing their long-term rental growth prospects.”
SHB : Shaftesbury looks forward to Crossrail completion