Developer posts half-year profit of £45.6m and sees value of investments rise by almost 10%
Mixed-use developer Minerva reported a half-year profit of £45.6m this morning, bouncing back from a half year loss of £186.7m for the same period last year.
The company also saw the value of its investments rise by almost 10%, bringing the firm back to a positive net asset valuation of 1.9p per share. This followed a contraction of asset values of a quarter in the same period in 2008, which had left investors with a liability of 28.8p per share six months ago.
The firm said it had clearly moved beyond the bottom of the economic cycle, but it is not yet planning imminent construction starts on any of its portfolio not already under construction.
It said it was reviewing its options regarding the Odeon cinema site on High Street Kensington it acquired from Northacre at the end of last year. It said practical completion of the Foster & Partners-designed Walbrook building in the city had now been achieved within budget.
Oliver Whitehead, chairman of Minerva, said: "There is real and growing evidence to show that we have now passed the cyclical low in the commercial property market. Minerva, with its well-located, high-quality portfolio of current and future developments, its strong funding platform and its experienced team, is well placed to outperform in an improving market environment."
