8th Jul 2005 11:30
Great Portland Estates PLC08 July 2005 8 July 2005 AGM Statement Richard Peskin, Chairman of Great Portland Estates plc, will make the followingcomments at today's AGM, to be held at Le Meridien, 21 Piccadilly, London, W1. "Great Portland is well positioned to benefit from the strengthening centralLondon occupational market. Following sales of property since March 2004,totalling some £160.2 million, the portfolio is now 100% located in the capital,with almost 77% in the West End. This market is showing the early signs of asupply shortage with a limited pipeline of new developments and initial take-upfigures for the second quarter of this year suggesting a strong increase overthe first. Consequently, we remain optimistic about the prospects for rentalgrowth. In the City market, the supply of space is falling, but remains higher than inthe West End. Second quarter take-up figures were healthy, slightly better thanin the first, and we expect rental growth to return during 2006 for the bestquality buildings. We continue to make good progress on our development programme. At Met Building,which is 43% let by rental value at rents well ahead of our initialexpectations, I am pleased to report that we have strong interest in much of theremainder. Redevelopment work is progressing well at all our West End projectsand since the year end we have received planning permission for theredevelopment of Knighton House, Mortimer Street, where work is anticipated tobegin on an 80,000 sq ft scheme early next year. We have made a number of interesting acquisitions since the year end withpurchases in the West End in Foley Street, and the Liberty Island site in RegentStreet and Kingly Street, the latter two in a joint venture with LiverpoolVictoria. We intend to maintain our disciplined approach to pricing and, withinvestment yields still compressing under the weight of capital looking forassets to buy, we expect opportunities to be limited in the short term. We arelikely to continue to take advantage of this high demand through sales ofproperty where we see limited angles for further value enhancement. Indeed,since the year end, we have sold two properties for a total of £24.8 million,generating a surplus of £2.5 million on their March 2005 book values. Asset management activity continues to drive cashflows across the portfolio.Since the year end, leases have been regeared at 160 Great Portland Street, BondStreet House on New Bond Street, the Liberty Island site on Regent Street, 14Hanover Square and Ellerman House, Camomile Street, EC2, all of which havehelped to maintain the group's void rate, including Met Building, at 6.9%,comparing favourably with the central London market rate as a whole ofapproximately 12%. Last year was a busy and successful one for Great Portland, during which weachieved most of our immediate strategic goals and generated attractive returnsfor shareholders. With a strong balance sheet, a development programme growingboth in size and prospects and occupational markets appearing to be well set, welook forward with confidence to building on the real progress we have made inthe last couple of years." Contacts: Great Portland Estates plcToby Courtauld, Chief Executive 020 7612 1442 FinsburyEdward Orlebar 020 7251 3801 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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