LondonMetric rejigs its portfolio and sells off three retail parks
LONDONMETRIC, the real estate group formed in February from the merger of London & Stamford and Metric Property, yesterday posted a jump in profits as the company worked to revamp its portfolio.
Pre-tax profits rose from £28m a year ago to £50.9m in the six months to the end of September.
The firm bought properties worth £160.4m in the period, while it sold off £456.7m-worth of sites. LondonMetric’s portfolio is now valued at £1.06bn across 68 properties.
“The LondonMetric team has worked diligently in their first half year together,” said chairman Patrick Vaughan. “Their principal focus has been on evolving the portfolio to focus on areas where we believe we can deliver strong long term returns as well as securing an income run rate that exceeds the dividend.”
The firm kept its interim dividend at 3.5p.
In a separate statement, LondonMetric announced that it is selling off three retail parks worth a total of £31.6m. The firm sold sites in Sheffield and Mansfield to Henderson Global Investors, while its joint venture with the Universities Superannuation Scheme completed the sale of a Wickes store in Oxford to Lothbury Investment Management.