Bruntwood SciTech reports £163m loss amid market revaluation
The property company stressed its position as a long-term investor and noted that its asset portfolio in 2024 was significantly larger than before, following the acquisition of 29 city centre assets.
The joint venture between Bruntwood, Legal & General, and Greater Manchester Pension Fund made the announcement in its annual accounts for the year ending 30 September, 2024.
The company had an operating profit of £30m compared to £9m in 2023.
Despite what it describes as ‘challenging market conditions’, its portfolio is worth £1.5bn in gross assets (compared to £864m in 2023). Net assets reached £666m (2023: £238m).
With properties across Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cambridge, and London, the company’s portfolio consists of 5.2m sq ft of workspace.
Spread across 11 campuses and 31 city centre locations, the report underlined Bruntwood SciTech’s confidence in its investments into its choice of cities and its focus on high growth sectors will underpin its future growth.
The company also stressed its commitment to the UK’s ‘knowledge economy’, having spent £314m on the refurbishment and development of 1.45m sq ft of workspace throughout the year, including the completion of Leeds grade A office West Village.
Looking ahead, the company reported a £150m, 2.3m sq ft of committed pipeline, including £50m earmarked for the retrofit of existing assets.
Commenting on the results, Bruntwood SciTech CEO Chris Oglesby, said: “When we announced our new shareholder GMPF, and all three shareholders committed to invest a further £500m into the UK’s fastest growing and economically important sectors, we said that we would maintain our momentum to bring forward world-class infrastructure to support its growth, and we have done just that this past year.
“What is clear, though, is that changes to market valuations have impacted both us and our peers, mirroring the sentiment of the UK economy this past year and in some of the most challenging times in recent memory.
But, we are pleased to have improved our underlying profitability as the business continues to deliver with clear focus and efficiency, grow our like-minded customer base and rental income while continuing to deliver significant capital investment.
“We have always been, and continue to be, a long-term, patient investor.”
