Town Centre Securities sees portfolio value plunge
PROPERTY group Town Centre Securities made a pre-tax loss of £112m last year due to the fall in value of its portfolio, but says that it is in a strong position to take advantage of market opportunities going forward.
The Leeds-based group, which owns the Merrion shopping centre in Leeds and Piccadilly Basin in Manchester, said that it had improved underlying profits to £7.9m in the 12 months to June 30 thanks to the sale of some of its properties and prudent cost cutting measures.
The revaluation of its portfolio saw £107.7m wiped off its value, following a drop of £75.3m the previous year.
Following its year end the company bought back £43.8m of debenture stock at a cost of £34m which has reduced its debt by £9m, net of costs.
The group said it had completed major refurbishment projects at the Merrion Centre in Leeds, Deansgate in Manchester and West Park, Harrogate.
TCS said that it had “taken the first very important step in re-establishing the value at our retail store at Piccadilly Basin” where Aldi has signed up to take a 17,000 sq ft food store which will open in November and TCS is looking at “exciting ideas for the rest of the property”.
Chairman and chief executive Edward Ziff, said: “We acted quickly and decisively ahead of a tumultuous year for the commercial property industry.
“The early sale of properties and the reduction of costs in our business, however unwelcome, have enabled us to improve underlying profit, hold the dividend and work well within our financing covenants.
“Together with the debenture buy back completed in August, these actions put us in a strong position to take advantage of the opportunities which I believe will emerge as the market begins to stabilise.”
Mr Ziff said the group was still committed to the planned Eastgate Quarters retail scheme in Leeds where John Lewis and Marks & Spencer were due to be anchor tenants.
He said that it “remains an important development for the city but patience will be required by all stakeholders in order to deliver it in the future”.
The group is proposing an unchanged final dividend of 5.4p.
