By Ian Walker

Shaftesbury Capital reported a strong performance for last year as it benefited from high footfall and customer sales growth in the West End of London and strong leasing demand.

The U.K. property developer and investor said Thursday that EPRA net tangible assets per share--a key industry metric--stood at 200.2 pence at Dec. 31, compared with 190.3 pence at the same day a year earlier. EPRA net tangible assets were 3.67 billion pounds ($4.65 billion) compared with 3.48 billion pounds.

The company said that its property portfolio was valued at 4.97 billion pounds at the end of the year, compared with 4.795 billion pounds.

Shaftesbury said that it signed 473 lease deals last year, representing 48.7 million pounds of contracted rent, and that occupancy was high.

"With our strong balance sheet, we are well-positioned to capitalize on market opportunities and confident of delivering further growth as the leading central London mixed-use [real estate investment trust]," Chief Executive Ian Hawksworth said.

The board declared a final dividend of 1.8 pence a share, taking the total payout for the year to 3.5 pence, from 3.15 pence.

Pretax profit for the year ended Dec. 31 fell to 252.4 million pounds from 750.6 million pounds after last year was boosted by a gain of 805.5 million pounds.

Revenue was 227.1 million pounds, compared with 195.1 million pounds, and gross profit was 167.1 million pounds, up from 141.9 million pounds.

Shares were down 2.70 pence, or 2.2%, at 122.50 pence in morning European trading. They are down 2.3% over the year to date and 11% lower over the past three months.

Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 27, 2025 03:52 ET (08:52 GMT)

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