Profits surge at The Crown Estate
THE Crown Estate, owner of three regional shopping centres in the North West, has announced another record return for the public purse as its portfolio value hit an all-time high.
The organisation owns Aintree Shopping Park in Liverpool, the Coliseum Shopping Park in Cheshire and the Altrincham Retail Park in south Manchester.
The Crown Estate’s net profit, which goes into the Treasury rose 6.7% to a record £285.1m in the year to March 31.
An increase in the value of property assets in London, where it has substantial holdings, saw its capital value reach an all-time high of £11.5bn, up 16.1%. Property value was £11bn, up 16.7%
Regarding its regional assets, The Crown Estate said it had continued to invest in Aintree Shopping Park by securing planning consents for new pods for Nandos (which opened in May) and EE (coming late 2015) and is working on a further two new retail stores for 2016.
At Coliseum Shopping Park in Ellesmere Port, more than £2m has been spent on an extensive refurbishment programme to significantly improve the design and visitor experience.
At the 220,000 sq ft Altrincham Retail Park in Greater Manchester, which is home to Asda Living Homebase, Currys and TK Maxx, B&M Bargains moved into a space previously occupied by ToysRUs.
Nationally, the Crown Estate attributed its success to : “a historically high development pipeline in London’s West End and regionally; the growth of the offshore wind portfolio”.
Chairman Sir Stuart Hampson, said: “The Crown Estate has raised the bar with another year of record breaking profits. These results prove that our long term outlook and active asset management in our core sectors continue to ensure that The Crown Estate remains an outstanding UK success story.”
Alison Nimmo, chief executive of The Crown Estate added: “This year we’ve continued on the path of success, outperforming the market and delivering significant value beyond financial return.
“Over 10 years we have nearly doubled the value of the business by delivering world leading business destinations and 21st century retail experiences, driving investment in the UK’s renewable energy industry and actively managing one of the nation’s largest rural land portfolios”.
