Post by Kev on May 28, 2004 6:52:11 GMT -5
New Mersey Retail Park has doubled in value since 2000 and is now worth £200m, according to the company that part owns and manages it.
Pillar Properties, which has a 35% stake in Park owners Hercules Unit Trust (HUT), yesterday revealed pre-tax profits for the year to March 31 had soared 31% to £20.9m.
Director Andrew Jones told the Daily Post: "The New Mersey Retail Park is still a very strong performer and has been our fifth best-performing asset over the past 12 months."
Mr Jones added that the park, which was acquired from London development group Cardinal Lysander for £100m in 2000, was now worth around £200m, making it the third-largest asset in the group.
At the time of the sale it was the biggest single property deal Liverpool's market had ever seen.
Pillar operates 5.3m sq ft of space in 24 retail parks.
Rental income has increased to £66.5m from £61.6m since last year.
Recent developments at Speke have included a new 20,000 sq ft letting for Marks & Spencer and an expansion by clothing chain Next. Marks & Spencer has also taken another 10,000 sq ft for a new food hall.
The increasing value of the site is demonstrated by rent per sq ft which in the last four years has risen from £15.50 to £37.50.
Established in the early 1990s in the wake of the property market crash, Pillar has moved away from capital intensive investments to place more emphasis on managing property assets.
It has sold several property assets to unit trusts it helped to create, helping it cut borrowings and return more than £200m to shareholders in the last 3 1/2 years.
Following yesterday's results the company said it planned to return a further £108.6m to investors.
Chairman Raymond Mould said: "We are particularly pleased with the performance of HUT, our retail park unit trust, which has become the UK's leading property fund."
"We aim to replicate this success with our European retail park fund PREF, and we are currently looking at further investment opportunities in several countries."
Pillar Properties, which has a 35% stake in Park owners Hercules Unit Trust (HUT), yesterday revealed pre-tax profits for the year to March 31 had soared 31% to £20.9m.
Director Andrew Jones told the Daily Post: "The New Mersey Retail Park is still a very strong performer and has been our fifth best-performing asset over the past 12 months."
Mr Jones added that the park, which was acquired from London development group Cardinal Lysander for £100m in 2000, was now worth around £200m, making it the third-largest asset in the group.
At the time of the sale it was the biggest single property deal Liverpool's market had ever seen.
Pillar operates 5.3m sq ft of space in 24 retail parks.
Rental income has increased to £66.5m from £61.6m since last year.
Recent developments at Speke have included a new 20,000 sq ft letting for Marks & Spencer and an expansion by clothing chain Next. Marks & Spencer has also taken another 10,000 sq ft for a new food hall.
The increasing value of the site is demonstrated by rent per sq ft which in the last four years has risen from £15.50 to £37.50.
Established in the early 1990s in the wake of the property market crash, Pillar has moved away from capital intensive investments to place more emphasis on managing property assets.
It has sold several property assets to unit trusts it helped to create, helping it cut borrowings and return more than £200m to shareholders in the last 3 1/2 years.
Following yesterday's results the company said it planned to return a further £108.6m to investors.
Chairman Raymond Mould said: "We are particularly pleased with the performance of HUT, our retail park unit trust, which has become the UK's leading property fund."
"We aim to replicate this success with our European retail park fund PREF, and we are currently looking at further investment opportunities in several countries."
