Bruntwood avoided too much debt, says Oglesby

COMMERCIAL property group Bruntwood avoided breaching its banking covenants during the recession and has negotiated an extension to its medium-term debt facilities.

The Manchester-based firm, which owns office blocks thoughout the UK, published headline annual figures last week which showed it had increased turnover and profits.

In its full report chief executive Chris Oglesby drew attention to the fact Bruntwood did not stray from the terms of its bank loans during the depths of the recession.

He said: “We have managed to remain within covenant by not over-valuing, and therefore not over-gearing, at the top of the market, coupled with a real focus on driving occupancy in our buildings through new lettings and customer retention totalling £15m.”

Bruntwood’s seven-year, £440m loan facility is four-and-a-half years from maturity and its £150m medium-term loan with RBS and HSBC has been extended by £20m. It also has a two-year extension to the repayment deadline.

The privately-owned company, which has a number of high profile buildings such as City Tower in Piccadilly, posted an 11.5% rise in turnover to £97m and a 9.5% increase in operating profit to £12.6m.