PROFITS at Newcastle-based property company Grainger are up by nearly a quarter after a year which has seen them strike deals with Lloyds Bank and the Ministry of Defence.
The UK’s biggest private landlord saw profit rise to £65.2m for the six months to the end of March compared with £3.5m a year earlier.
The company has credited a number of profitable deals for the uplift, including a £14.9m gain on its £18.5m purchase of 317 freehold properties in the HI Tricomm Holdings portfolio, which are let to the Ministry of Defence until 2028.
Grainger’s director of corporate affairs Dave Butler said: “There’s been some really good sales and profits in there. It’s a strong set of results. We’ve made a big play of diversifying our income stream over the last year or so. The UK residential portfolio is still producing good profits and will do for years to come, but we’ve got the platform, skills and assets we can use for other deals.”
Boosted by strong performance in London and the South East, the UK portfolio valuation rose by 2.2%, while German values dropped by just 0.1%.
The total sales pipeline as of May 13 this year was £155m. However, the company has also completed a number of deals in the last year.
Grainger took full ownership of a portfolio of 1,650 properties in central London, buying the remaining 40% from Genesis Housing Group for £15m, giving them control of properties near Westminster with a market value of £289m.
