City briefs: Real Estate Investors; Dignity

Paul Bassi

Real Estate Investors (REI), the Birmingham-based REIT, has seen pre=tax profits rise to £9m for the six months ending June 30 – against a loss of £3.8m.

REI says the recovery is down to a 1.88% increase in property values and an and interest hedging costs surplus of £716,000. The company says the increase in value demonstrates “portfolio stability in an extremely challenging marketplace.”

Paul Bassi, chief executive, said: “We are pleased to report promising signs of market recovery after an extremely volatile 18 months. Both the investor and occupier markets are improving with little distress evident and enquiry levels gathering pace in Q2. Our diverse portfolio has continued to show resilience, shielding us from over exposure to specific sector downturn and supporting robust rent collection levels, with our like for like portfolio value increasing in the first half.”

Dignity, the Sutton Coldfield-based listed funeral services provider, has swung dramtically back into the black.

For the six months to June 26, the firm posted profits of £50.5m against a loss of £12.1m last year.

Gary Channon, chief executive of Dignity, said: “There are a number of significant projects underway at Dignity that we are committed to delivering. Importantly we must take all of our stakeholders along on this journey, including our colleagues, clients and shareholders.

“Our focus is to build a successful and growing business by empowering our colleagues and giving them the tools to succeed which include competitive prices, the authority to act with local autonomy, great products and investment in people and premises. Our most ambitious goal though is to cultivate a culture that will be our true differentiator. Successful execution of our strategy will unlock the significant value in our business.”

 

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