I am pleased to report on a year of numerous operational successes. Despite the multiple macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainties overshadowing London’s economy, we delivered many of the core components of our contra-cyclical strategy, beating expectations; record levels of leasing significantly ahead of rental values, opportunistic acquisitions at a discount, £0.5bn of asset sales at a premium and the completion of some of the highest quality spaces in our capital city, into a severely undersupplied market. Consequently, EPS was up by 63% and net assets grew by 6.1%, with development values up 22%.
Whilst the external environment remains volatile, we are well positioned to build on this momentum; demand for our premium HQ and Flex spaces is strong and our pipeline is long, concentrated in the most sought-after, core locations. As a result, we remain confident we can deliver a cost of capital beating outcome for the forthcoming financial year and substantial income and value growth over the medium term.
Executing our growth strategy
The Directors of Great Portland Estates plc announce the results for the Group for the year ended 31 March 2026, with highlights including:
Record leasing year
· 88 new leases and renewals generating annual rent of £70.9 million p.a.; 10.3% above March 2025 ERV2
· Rent roll up 46%3; further organic growth potential of 95%
· FY’27 rental growth guidance of 4.0% to 7.0%; prime offices 4.0% to 8.0%
Valuation up 4.3%3; EPRA4 NTA per share of 524 pence up 6.1%; EPRA EPS up 63.5%
· Portfolio valuation of £3.0 billion, up 4.3%3; +5.4% offices; developments +22.2%
· Rental values up by 5.8%3 (6.3% offices (7.2% prime) & 1.6% retail); yield expansion of 11 bp
· IFRS NAV and EPRA4 NTA per share of 524 pence5, up 6.1% since March 2025
· IFRS profit after tax of £154.5 million
· EPRA4 earnings £34.5 million, EPRA4 EPS 8.5 pence5, up 63.5%; total dividend increased to 8.2p per share
· ROE of 7.9% over last 12 months; good progress to 10%+ ROE target for FY27
Successful capital recycling; £490 million of sales ahead of book value
· Four disposals for £490 million, 2.3% ahead of March 25 book value; £1,251 per sq ft capital value
· Two accretive acquisitions; £69 million, adding to our Fitzrovia cluster, only £592 capital value psf
· £200 million of sales under consideration; potential for further £1.0+ billion over the medium term
Significant progress across development and refurbishment programme
· 2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2 completed, on time and budget, 100% pre-let
· Good progress at five on-site development and refurbishment schemes, £223 million capex to come
- Three on-site HQ schemes now c.50% pre-let including CD&R & Quantexa lettings in year
- Two Fully Managed refurbishments, including commitment to The Howlett, Gresse Street, W1
· Three Fully Managed deliveries in year (c.77,000 sq ft); strong leasing progress
· Further three pipeline HQ schemes, planning secured at St Thomas Yard, SE1; total capex £367 million
· Combined expected surplus of £131 million, assuming current rents and yields, and allowances for construction cost inflation; £260 million with 10% rental growth
Significant liquidity and optionality; new £525 million RCF and LTV 28.6%
· New five year £525 million RCF signed in October, headline margin 105 bps over SONIA
· GPE’s Baa2 long-term issuer rating confirmed by Moody’s Ratings
· EPRA LTV 28.6%, cash & undrawn facilities £412 million ; weighted avg. debt maturity of 5.4 years
Delivering exceptional customer experience and sustainable spaces
· Industry leading NPS of +29.7 (+49.1 Fully Managed); award-winning Customer Experience team
· Customer retention 76%; AI-led businesses now c.11% of the portfolio (27% of Fully Managed spaces)
· Two internal promotions to Executive Committee to elevate strategic focus on Flex and customer experience
1 All values include share of joint ventures unless otherwise stated 2 Leasing in period to 31 March 2026 3 On a like-for-like basis 4 In accordance with EPRA guidance. We prepare our financial statements using IFRS, however we also use a number of adjusted measures in assessing and managing the performance of the business. These include like-for-like figures to aid in the comparability of the underlying business and proportionately consolidated measures, which represent the Group’s gross share of joint ventures rather than the net equity accounted presentation included in the IFRS financial statements. These metrics have been disclosed as management review and monitor performance of the business on this basis. We have also included a number of measures defined by EPRA, which are designed to enhance transparency and comparability across the European Real Estate sector, see note 9 to the financial statements. Our primary NAV metric is EPRA NTA which we consider to be the most relevant investor measure for the Group. 5. Company compiled consensus NTA: 523p, EPS 7.9p. Visible Alpha: NTA 522p, EPS 7.9p.