‘Strong’ Liverpool One plays its part in Grosvenor’s return to profit
Liverpool One owner Grosvenor has recorded its first profit since 2007, after a swing of more than £600m.
The property group, owned by the former Liverpool Daily Post’s business person of the year, the Duke of Westminster, recorded a pre-tax profit of £394.8m in 2010, after losses of £235.8m in 2009 and £593.9m a year earlier.
Grosvenor’s assets under management are valued at £10.9bn – up from £10.2bn – of which £4.9bn is retail, £3.1bn is commercial and £2.9bn residential.
The company remains pleased with Liverpool One’s performance in its second full year of trading.
It said: “Liverpool One continues to perform strongly. It is currently 98% let, 51% of tenants are new to Liverpool and 20 new retailers opened in 2010, including Hugo Boss, Desigual, Habitat, Hollister, Jamie’s Italian and Kuoni.
“In 2010, retail turnover was up 16.9% compared to 2009, and over 24.6m people visited Liverpool One.”
Liverpool One is owned by the Grosvenor Liverpool Fund, which agreed in principle a five-year, £385m refinancing with four banks last December – well ahead of the existing loan maturing in January, 2012.
It replaces the original funding which was put in place six years ago to cover both the development phase and the initial period of trading.
Grosvenor, which for the first time published an environment review alongside yesterday’s annual report, said it had seen steady growth of interest in sustainability from investors and tenants.
It highlighted an award won by Liverpool One for a project which converts used cooking oil from restaurants into fuel to help run the on-site vehicles.
Grosvenor also owns retail properties in Basnett Street and Renshaw Street, as well as One Park West. More widely, Grosvenor benefited particularly from a good performance from Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, and improved returns from Grosvenor Asia Pacific.
Mark Preston, Grosvenor’s group chief executive, said: “We have ambitious plans for the future and during 2010 we laid the foundations for growth over the coming decade. After two years of mildly negative returns, 2010 saw them move in line with the historic long term average.
“We remain committed to expansion in Asia, especially China, and to reinvesting in our core business in London. We still see threats to a sustained recovery, but Grosvenor’s diversified business and financial prudence will stand us in good stead.”
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