Shaftesbury Capital has published a trading update for the five months to May 2023, with its retail, hospitality, and leisure customers reporting sales in aggregate 13% above 2019 on a like-for-like (lfl) basis.
The landlord, with a £4.9bn portfolio including Covent Garden, Carnaby, Soho, and Chinatown, reported strong trading across its portfolio and positive footfall trends across the West End.
Footfall was buoyed by increasing numbers of international tourists, particularly in May following Coronation celebrations, with trends are anticipated to continue through the summer.
Shaftesbury Capital further reported low vacancy – with 2.9% of estimated rental value available to let – and “positive progress in introducing new brands and concepts across the portfolio.”
New restaurant offerings include Gaucho Covent Garden, Darjeeling Express, and Story Cellar, the second restaurant venture from two Michelin Star chef Tom Sellers.
The landlord also reported demand for office space across the West End remains “healthy”.
The merger of Shaftesbury with Capital & Counties (Capco) completed on 6 March 2023. Shaftesbury Capital has reported “good early progress” on integration with actions to date expected to result in annualised cost savings of c£7.5m.
Priorities include recycling capital towards opportunities with sustainable long-term rental growth, and refinancing medium-term maturities, including a loan facility of £576m drawn down to full in April 2023.
Chief executive Ian Hawksworth commented: “We are pleased with the first 100 days of activity across Shaftesbury Capital with the integration of our business and talented team progressing well. We are encouraged by operational progress, prospects for our prime West End portfolio and the benefits we are seeing from the combined platform.
Our portfolio has delivered a strong operating performance reflecting its exceptional qualities and long-term resilience. Against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty, demand for space in our West End locations continues to be strong across all uses, with 173 leasing transactions completing in the first five months of the year, at rents on average 6 per cent ahead of December 2022 ERV providing confidence for rental growth prospects.”
