Bruntwood celebrates 40th year with £1bn landmark

Bruntwood has passed through the £1bn barrier of property under ownership for the first time, the Manchester developer-landlord has announced.

Reporting its figures for the financial year to 30 September 2016, Bruntwood said that turnover had hit a record £118m, up 9% on 2015’s figure. Profit for the year was £69m. Net worth – total assets minus liabilities – climbed to £473m, surpassing its pre-recession high of £437m, as the company reaches 40 years in business.

During the year, the group acquired over 100,000 sq ft, including the 66,000 sq ft Commercial Union House in Manchester, rebranded as Union ahead of a launch this summer, and Synergy House through the Manchester Science Partnerships vehicle. Enabling works at Circle Square have been started, while Neo, the firm’s new offices concept, has been brought to market.

Bruntwood expects to complete 700,000 sq ft in 2017 and in total, the group has a development pipeline worth £1.4bn. Group gearing ended the year at 49% loan-to-value, while a new £115.5m debt facility has been agreed with Aviva.

Chief executive Chris Oglesby said: “This has been another fantastic year for the Bruntwood Group of Companies which continue to go from strength to strength. Despite the uncertain macro-economic backdrop, demand for our product and service proposition in our core cities remains strong.

“Vacancy in our investment portfolio is at an all-time low, and we now have the capital and financing structure to not only deliver our significant development pipeline, but also to provide resilience should economic conditions change.”