Shaftesbury profit up 28%

West End landlord Shaftesbury’s pretax profit jumped by 28% in the six months to 31 March despite concerns over the retail sector.

The landlord reported profit of £102m for the six months to the end of March and a 3.4% rise in net asset value to £2.5bn.

Chief executive Brian Bickell said: “Across our portfolio, the data we collect is showing a clear trend of year-on-year turnover growth for our restaurant, leisure and retail tenants, reflecting the buoyancy of the West End’s economy. Occupier demand for these uses, and our office and residential space, is good and vacancy levels remain low.