London's West End success give Shaftesbury a Christmas boost

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Jan 30, 2023

When central London retail performs, so too does commercial property giant Shaftesbury. After all, it does own a 6.4-acre, 600-building portfolio in the heart of the capital's West End and “buoyant trading and footfall over the festive period” meant good news for Shaftesbury for the period covering 1 October -31 December.

It also noted “sustained occupier demand across all uses” and “robust” rental values, as it outperformed the wider West End during the festive season, not to mention the rest of the country. Occupants' average turnover rose 6% above 2019 levels and 42% ahead of the 2021 period, which was affected by pandemic restrictions.

Shaftesbury said the valuation of its overall properties fell to £3.11 billion by the end of the December quarter, from £3.19 billion in the prior quarter, but leasing activity remains strong across all uses, it said.

CEO Brian Bickell said its “carefully-curated, ever-evolving and distinctive destinations in the heart of London's West End underpin our confidence in the resilience and long-term prospects of our exceptional portfolio."

An update of Shaftesbury’s merger with Capital & Counties Properties (Capco), which will create a £5 billion estate with key sites including Covent Garden, Carnaby Street and Soho, is expected on 22 February.

Capco also said in a separate statement that trading conditions across its Covent Garden estate have been "positive", helped by a successful Christmas period with customer sales exceeding pre-pandemic levels.