Bruntwood announces 2015 financial results

Commercial property company Bruntwood has filed its latest set of accounts for the financial year ending September 2015.

2015 has seen another strong financial performance, as the company consolidated its gains and increased its net worth by 18% to £422m and total assets to £904m. The group reported profits of £15.3m that represented an underlying increase of 16% excluding one-off exceptional items.

After the strategic disposal of £183m worth of investment assets over the last 18 months, a comprehensive development pipeline is well underway and Bruntwood are currently on site with over 400,000 sq ft of new schemes, with a further secured pipeline expected to deliver a gross development value of over £1bn.

In Leeds, Bruntwood is now on site with 120,000 sq ft at City House directly above the city’s station and the 80,000 sq ft new build 3 Sovereign Square is nearing completion. It also has 2 schemes on site in Birmingham: the 110,000 sq ft of Grade A space at Two Cornwall Street and the remodelling of the 200,000 sq ft Centre City.

At the heart of Manchester’ s CBD, the iconic Bank House is being transformed into neo; specifically designed to meet the demands of the changing world of work and through its science subsidiary Manchester Science Partnerships (MSP), projects are progressing with the speculative 70,000 sq ft new build No. 1 MSP Central and the repurposing of the 1.5m sq ft AstraZeneca Research HQ at Alderley Park in Cheshire.

Over the last 12 months, the business has made some key strategic acquisitions, including the former BBC site on Oxford Road, Manchester that will be transformed into a fully integrated residential and commercial neighbourhood called Circle Square and Commercial Union House on Albert Square.

The business had also committed c£25m to refurbishment and capital improvement projects across the remainder of its portfolio.

The continued success of the business allowed Bruntwood to further support local communities; directly and through the Oglesby Charitable Trust donating over £2.9m to charity, arts, environmental and medical initiatives.

Chris Oglesby, Chief Executive at Bruntwood, said: “As we approach our 40 year anniversary, we have more development on the horizon than at any stage in our history and at the same time the outlook for our great regional cities looks stronger than ever over this period, both individually, and through the agglomeration benefits of The Northern Powerhouse and The Midlands Engine initiatives.

“Just as exciting as the macro picture, though, is the pace of change at a micro level in our markets and in our business’s response to this change. Customers are increasingly demanding so much more from their property suppliers and our fast moving, flexible customer focussed business model is ideally positioned to respond. We are developing a much deeper sector focus throughout the business, learning from our experience in operating MSP and, in parallel, we are rapidly broadening the proposition of our Property Services division to meet the changing work practices of our customers such that turnover in this area is up – something that we expect to continue over the next few years.

“Finally, what our cities expect from property companies is changing just as fast, as they look to work in partnership to develop the diverse, inclusive and successful communities of the future. The deep roots that we have in all of our cities and the holistic approach of the business in the wider community have the twin benefits of helping the business secure some very exciting redevelopment opportunities and of making it all the more satisfying for our 550 wonderful colleagues.”