Developer slumps to big losses as it reveals plans for £200m portfolio sale
Developer St Modwen has slumped to a loss of almost £121m for the year-ending November 30 2020.
The Birmingham-based firm has outlined plans to offload up to £200m of land and regeneration assets by 2023 as it looks to concentrate on the logistics and housebuilding sector.
St Modwen has a Warrington regional office and a range of investments throughout the North West.
These include an industrial and logistics site at Chamberhall Business Park in Bury, a £150m regeneration at Great Homer Street in Liverpool, an 89-home housing scheme in St Helens, and the Moorgate Point Business Park and Stonebridge Business Park in Knowsley, and Liverpool, respectively.
The £120.8m loss is compared to a profit of £49.5m in 2019, as the initial wave of Covid-19 meant the firm paused work on all of its sites. However, St Modwen reported a profit of £13.7m in the second half of its financial year.
Sarwjit Sambhi, chief executive at St Modwen, said: “St Modwen delivered strong operational results in 2020 under extraordinary circumstances. Thank you to all our colleagues for their outstanding efforts and for overcoming the challenges posed by the pandemic.
“Our strategy is focused on two sectors, logistics and housebuilding, where structural demand is growing, acknowledging that the economic outlook is uncertain. These sectors make up 78% of our portfolio today and will represent over 90% within three years. In both, momentum is strong, and we have an attractive pipeline to accelerate growth.”
