Shaftesbury defies Brexit retail woes as rents boost income
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Tuesday 21 May 2019
(Sharecast News) - Robust demand and consumer spending boosted half year income at West End landlord Shaftesbury, defying the woes that have hit the retail sector due to Brexit.
The company said net property income rose 5.2% to £48.6m on the back of a 6.4% like-for-like rise in rents, while pre-tax profit slumped 69% to £38.7m as property value growth declined.
Shaftesbury, which owns a portfolio extending to 15.1 acres in the heart of London's West End, lifted the interim dividend 4.8% to 8.7p a share.
Chief executive Brian Bickell said that while macroeconomic uncertainties were " likely to dominate the national mood for some time to come" the medium to long-term outlook for London and the West End remained "strongly positive."
The company also dismissed as without "any merit" a £10m legal claim from 26% shareholder Samuel Tak Lee over a 2017 share placing.
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