Commercial property group increases profits by £60m
Commercial property group LCP has grown pre-tax profits by 60% in “another exceptional year” for the Kingswinford business.
LCP, which is one of the UK’s largest private owners of industrial, retail and office property to let, generated profits of £135.5m in the year to March.
Nick Burgess, managing director of LCP
Occupancy levels have remained high – 94% in its industrial portfolio and 93% in retail – while it has grown the number of asset managers and in-house solicitors.
It has also invested £59.7m in property acquisitions and £25m in upgrading its existing portfolio.
Burgess added: “This has been another exceptional year for the group as we continue to invest in acquisitions and to improve and develop our existing portfolio.
“We pride ourselves on ensuring that we intensively manage our properties, with dedicated asset managers working closely with local communities and tenants to deliver the highest standards.”
The group’s turnover grew by 7% to £121.4m. Revenue from continental Europe, which accounts for one-fifth of LCP’s income, increased by 20%.
This was due to retail acquisitions, the re-opening of a shopping centre in Poland, and the favourable impact of foreign exchange movements.
Underlying profits, which exclude a number of one-off impacts, grew by 18% to £58m.
The majority of the difference between pre-tax and underlying profits was caused by valuation gains of £63.9m, which represents an uplift of 5%.
