Profits fall at Bruntwood despite year of ‘transformational growth’
Property firm Bruntwood has reported “strong” financial results following a year of “transformational growth”.
The results come in a year when the property group has both unveiled plans for new flagship developments and invested in the refurbishment of existing assets across the North and Midlands.
Turnover for Bruntwood Group, which is behind the Innovation Birmingham campus, rose 16.6% to £160.1m, whilst the total value of its assets under management increased from £1.3bn to £1.4bn.
However, pre-tax profits of £52m were down on 2018, but ahead of expectations. Bruntwood says this figure is “reflective of the re-risked nature of the group” as the percentage of the company’s capital allocated to development was reduced to a third of the level of the previous year largely as a result of the introduction of Legal & General as a JV partner.
Chief executive Chris Oglesby said: “At Bruntwood we are relentless in our passion to support our customers and to work closely with our civic and academic partners to help them grow by unlocking economic opportunities through the development of their property assets.
“In a year where the UK saw a sharp fall in inward investment as a result of the uncertainty over Brexit, we invested a record amount in creating places for businesses to thrive, reflecting our belief in the underlying strength and potential of great cities like Birmingham Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester.
“While we invest for the long-term, and never judge our performance in the context of a single year’s figures, these are strong results following a record year where our profits were buoyed by a number of one-off exceptional items.”
