Bruntwood bullish as profits and activity soars
BRUNTWOOD, the family-owned and managed property company with assets across the North and Midlands, has reported a 16% hike in pre-exceptional profits.
The Manchester-based group said the 12 months to September 30 2015 had been a period of “strong financial performance”, while it is on site with a number of landmark schemes in its home city, Leeds and Birmingham.
Bruntwood, which gives a large chunk of its annual profits every year to charity and the arts, said its net worth rose 18% to £422m and total assets to £904m in the period.
After the strategic disposal of £183m worth of investment assets over the last 18 months – including City Tower in Manchester – the company is on site with over 400,000 sq ft of new schemes, with a further secured pipeline expected to deliver a gross development value of over £1bn.
In Leeds, it is on site with 120,000 sq ft at City House directly above the city’s station and the 80,000 sq ft new build 3 Sovereign Square is nearing completion. It also has two schemes on site in Birmingham: the 110,000 sq ft of Grade A space at Two Cornwall Street and the remodelling of the 200,000 sq ft Centre City.
At the heart of Manchester’ s Bank House is being transformed into neo; a collaborative and creative space, designed to meet the demands of the changing world of work.
Through its science subsidiary Manchester Science Partnerships (MSP), projects are progressing with the speculative 70,000 sq ft new build No. 1 MSP Central and the repurposing of the 1.5m sq ft AstraZeneca Research HQ at Alderley Park in Cheshire.
Over the last 12 months the business has made some key strategic acquisitions, including the former BBC site on Oxford Road, Manchester that will be transformed into a fully integrated residential and commercial neighbourhood called Circle Square and Commercial Union House on Albert Square.
The business, which employs 550 people, said it has committed around £25m to refurbishment and capital improvement projects across the remainder of its portfolio.
The continued success of the business allowed Bruntwood to further support local communities; directly and through the Oglesby Charitable Trust donating over £2.9m to charity, arts, environmental and medical initiatives.
Chief executive Chris Oglesby said: “As we approach our 40 year anniversary, we have more development on the horizon than at any stage in our history and at the same time the outlook for our great regional cities looks stronger than ever over this period, both individually, and through the agglomeration benefits of The Northern Powerhouse and The Midlands Engine initiatives.
“Just as exciting as the macro picture, though, is the pace of change at a micro level in our markets and in our business’s response to this change. Customers are increasingly demanding so much more from their property suppliers and our fast moving, flexible customer focussed business model is ideally positioned to respond.
“We are developing a much deeper sector focus throughout the business, learning from our experience in operating MSP and, in parallel, we are rapidly broadening the proposition of our Property Services division to meet the changing work practices of our customers such that turnover in this area is up – something that we expect to continue over the next few years.”
