Howard de Walden cheers resi and retail for rental rise

The Howard de Walden Estate has posted a rise in rental income across its Marylebone portfolio, but a fall in values has left it in the red. In results for the year to 31 March, rental income rose by 3% year-on-year to £152.2m, with £35.4m of new lettings and 746 leases signed. Residential, retail and healthcare properties led that rise, while office income declined by 3.6%. The company has been repositioning much of its office stock, and has launched its Elmtree flexible office offering. The estate made a pretax loss of £254.2m, including a £331.8m loss from revaluing investment properties, which dropped by 8.2% to £4.17bn. Operating profit was largely in line with the previous year. Chairman William Proby said: “We have come through a testing time over the last four years. However, there are signs that we may have reached, or are very close to, the bottom of the current property cycle. Our strong financial position means we can expect good opportunities for the estate to prosper.” Photo © Howard de Walden Estate