Buoyant London market boosts CLS Holdings’ property values
CLS Holdings has seen the value of its portfolio surge in the past six months on the back of the economic recovery and strong demand in the London property market.
The FTSE 250 property group said pre-tax profits jumped 160 per cent to £72.6m in the first half to 30 June compared with the same last year, thanks to a £44m revaluation uplift of its London investment portfolio.
Its net assets per share rose 11.3 per cent to 1,412.0p.
CLS’s chief financial officer John Whiteley said companies being priced out of the rental market in the City and the West End were taking up space in its office buildings, located mainly in surburban south west London.
Its vacancy rate fell to a record low of 3.5 per cent compared with 4.4 per cent at the start of the year and its benchmark average of 9.7 per cent.
CLS’s hotel and student housing scheme Spring Mews in Vauxhall is weeks away from completion, with InterContinental Hotels Group due to open their Staybridge hotel in the fourth quarter.