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Great Portland Estates PLC on Tuesday reported profit and revenue growth, as the company hailed its leasing performance in the first half. The London-based commercial real estate developer and landlord said pretax profit for the six months ended September rose 91% to £57.2 million from £29.9 million, driven by revenue and surplus from investment property growth. Diluted earnings per share rose 79% to 14.5 pence from 8.1p. Revenue grew 22% to £54.6 million from £44.9 million a year ago. Surplus from investment property more than doubled to £39.4 million from £19.0 million. Gross rental income was the biggest contributor to revenue growth, rising 8.3% to £35.4 million from £32.7 million a year ago. Fully managed services income more than doubled to £10.3 million from £4.7 million, further bolstering the revenue. Great Portland Estates attributed both net rental and fully managed services income to ‘significant leasing success’ at its fully managed refurbishment schemes, which were completed in the last 12 months. In total, 43 new leases and renewals were completed, compared to 28 in the same period a year ago, which the company said drove up rents and property values. The company’s portfolio valuation was up 1.5% on a like-for-like basis to £3.1 billion. Great Portland Estates declared an interim dividend of 2.9p per share, which was flat year-on-year. Looking ahead, the company said it anticipates ‘continued growth in property values’. Great Portland Estates reiterated its rental growth guidance of between 4.0% and 7.0% for financial 2026, with prime offices stronger at between 6.0% and 10%. Earnings per share are expected to be broadly in line with the first half. ‘We have delivered another period of strong operational performance across our prime central London portfolio, leasing more in the first half than in all of last year, driving up both our rents and our property values,’ said Chief Executive Toby Courtauld. He added: ‘We will continue adding to our pipeline through acquisition, and profitably exiting completed business plans, all the while maintaining high liquidity and low leverage.’ Shares in Great Portland Estates fell 2.0% to 315.00 pence on Tuesday morning in London. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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