Platform owner smashes through £100m profit landmark
Bruntwood has smashed through the £100m profit barrier after a transformational year for the property group.
Significant investment in assets, including Platform in Leeds and Cornerblock in Birmingham, has resulted in a financial boost from revaluations, aided by strong demand at those properties and key Manchester sites.
The group also agreed a £360m partnership with Legal & General Capital which aims to transform science and technology in England’s regional cities and has the ambition of adding 5m sq ft of space in the next 10 years.
Bruntwood chief executive Chris Oglesby said: “We are fully focused on our purpose of creating thriving cities and by continuing to invest in our customers, colleagues and communities, despite the macro-economic picture and the uncertainty Brexit will bring, we can be confident of further growth.
“Our regional cities are thriving and demand for our product and services remains strong, with a good pipeline of deal transactions and opportunities.”
The group, which is headquartered in Manchester and owns more than 100 buildings across the North and Midlands, increased pre-tax profits by 62% to £116.3m.ADVERTISING
Revenue increased for the seventh-consecutive year, rising 5% to £137.7m in the year to September 2018.
The group increased its assets under management by 17% to £1.27bn. Its largest deal was the purchase from Birmingham City Council of the Innovation Birmingham campus, which is home to 170 companies on the edge of Birmingham city centre.
Other milestones for the business included the launch of Union in Manchester and relaunch of Cornerblock in Birmingham, the opening of tech incubators in Leeds and Manchester, and the pre-let of Manchester Science Park’s Citylabs 2.0 development to Qiagen.
Oglesby added: “Brexit is, of course, a huge challenge for our economy, but by working with our civic and academic partners towards a common goal of creating the environments where businesses – particularly in globally-facing sectors such as science and technology – can prosper, we will play our part in meeting this challenge.”
