Bruntwood delivers strong operational performance with continued investment across UK towns and cities

Property investor and developer releases annual accounts for the period ending September 30 2025.

Leading UK property provider Bruntwood has reported a strong underlying performance, with continued investment positioning the business for sustainable long-term growth despite a challenging economic backdrop.

For 50 years, Bruntwood's purpose of Creating Thriving Cities has been at the heart of its ambitions – investing in workspace and driving town centre regeneration across the UK, while supporting the growth of the nation's innovation economy through its Bruntwood SciTech joint venture. .

The business delivered an operating profit of £18.6 million, demonstrating the resilience of its core town centre portfolios and services businesses – reflecting Bruntwood's conviction that thriving towns and thriving cities have a symbiotic relationship. Total Assets Under Management across Bruntwood Group’s wholly owned portfolio and joint ventures now stand at £1.9 billion (2024: £1.8 billion).

Bruntwood reported a loss before taxation of £12.9 million (2024: £73.7 million loss), representing a substantial year-on-year improvement. This performance was supported by stable valuations across its wholly-owned Bruntwood Places portfolio, with no valuation losses reported throughout the year. The remaining pre-tax loss largely reflects a £21.5 million share of joint venture losses, driven by development write-downs amid higher build costs (up around 40% since 2022) and continued market yield pressures.

The business also successfully completed the refinancing of its club bank facility for its Bruntwood Places portfolio with Santander, HSBC, NatWest and Barclays in February, extending the facility by £90 million and 12 months. This enabled the repayment of Retail Bonds due in February 2025, while providing £29.0 million of undrawn commitments and a comfortable level of covenant headroom as at 30 September.

Thriving occupational markets

Occupational demand remained strong throughout the year, with Bruntwood welcoming over 455 new customers and completing nearly 900,000 sq ft of lettings transactions across the entire portfolio of the Bruntwood Group, including its joint ventures. This activity reflects the continued flight to quality, with businesses increasingly recognising the value of well-amenitised workspace in driving productivity and encouraging employees back to the office.

Bruntwood Places

To meet this demand, Bruntwood invested £16m in its Bruntwood Places portfolio -  £6.2 million in its wholly owned office portfolio and a further £9.8 million through its town centre joint ventures with Trafford and Bury Councils. Bruntwood Places comprises a £240 million portfolio of workspace, alongside a £84 million portfolio of town centre regeneration projects, serving nearly 800 customers.

Key achievements in the wholly owned portfolio included a £1.2 million transformation of Landmark House in Cheadle, the refurbishment of South Central in Manchester city centre, Station House in Altrincham, Riverside in Salford and Wilderspool in Warrington. In Liverpool, the refurbishment of Exchange Court delivered 12,500 sq ft of premium workspace across nine new office suites, alongside a new coworking lounge and hospitality venue with Permit Room by Dishoom recently confirmed as the operator.

Through its joint venture with Trafford Council, Bruntwood reached major milestones in its town centre regeneration programme. In Stretford, King Street and Pinnington Lane opened to the public in August 2025, alongside the brand-new Sir Tony Lloyd Square. It has welcomed a fresh wave of national brands and local independents as part of its regeneration, with new openings including Holland & Barrett, Specsavers, Harry’s Pharmacy’s new community health hub, and Stretford beauty business Ebonies in The Mezz, alongside the growing line-up on King Street, including Fountain Records, Costa Coffee, Greggs, Home Bargains and Card Factory. The newly refurbished multi-storey car park has also reopened with 260 spaces, supporting easier access as the town centre continues to evolve.

At Stamford Quarter in Altrincham, the completion of public realm enhancements at Stamford Square created a vibrant new community space, contributing to over 4.5 million visitors during 2025 – an increase of 14 per cent on the previous year. A number of significant lettings were also secured, including Oliver Bonas, Crew Clothing and Rituals, while creative agency TGG relocated its headquarters to Foundation, taking the entire third floor and setting a record rental level for the town.

Bruntwood SciTech continues momentum

Bruntwood SciTech, the joint venture with L&G and Greater Manchester Pension Fund, continued to drive the UK's innovation economy, investing £156 million across its portfolio during the year. The business completed a record volume of development schemes with a Gross Development Value of c.£245 million, including No.3 Circle Square and Citylabs 4.0 in Manchester, West Village in Leeds, and No.1 Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, whilst its development of the Greenheys laboratory building at Manchester Science Park, home to UK Biobank is due to compete in Spring 2026.

Bruntwood SciTech's portfolio now stands at £1.6 billion across 5.8 million sq ft, serving over 1,500 high-growth businesses. It has plans to create a £5bn portfolio by 2033 and has a 3 million sq ft secured development pipeline, including its Sister JV with the University of Manchester, further phases of Citylabs with Manchester University Foundation Trust, Birmingham Health Innovation Campus with the University of Birmingham and Hemisphere in Liverpool through the Sciontec JV.

Since year end, the £30 million transformation of Grade II listed Pall Mall in Manchester city centre has already completed, delivering 120,000 sq ft of net zero carbon innovation space, alongside a new public piazza, while plans are already underway at Manchester One to provide additional workspace and amenity.

Purpose-driven performance

Bruntwood generated over £203 million of social value across the Group during the year, encompassing local spend, local employment and direct activities including the 20th anniversary of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, charitable contributions and volunteering. Alongside this, the Oglesby Charitable Trust donated £2.3 million to 50 charities across health and wellbeing, social equality, environmental and cultural causes.

The business published its first-ever Social Impact Report during the year and procured the Social Value Portal to better measure and report on its impact, with a five-year social impact strategy now in development.

Commenting on the figures, Chris Oglesby, CEO of Bruntwood and Bruntwood SciTech, said: "2025 has been a pivotal year for Bruntwood, characterised by strong operational execution and strategic investments positioning us for sustainable long-term growth. Despite navigating a complex global economic landscape, our core business units have demonstrated resilience and adaptability.

"In the office sector, it has been a tale of two halves. While capital markets have faced significant headwinds with yield-driven valuation reductions of around 35% across the wider market over the last two-and-a-half years, occupational markets have been incredibly strong. Rental growth is at levels I haven't seen in my 35 years working across our city regions, and businesses increasingly recognise the value of quality workspace in driving productivity.

"Our investment in our wholly owned portfolio and joint ventures reflect our conviction that for cities to thrive, they need a network of thriving towns. The opening of King Street in Stretford and continued progress at Stamford Quarter demonstrate our commitment to consultation-led regeneration that delivers lasting benefit for local communities.

"Looking ahead, we are well-positioned to capitalise on emerging opportunities. We end the year with a strong balance sheet, diversified revenue streams and a commitment to innovation – all of which provide a solid foundation for future growth."

Looking ahead, Bruntwood will continue with its ongoing investments across its workspace portfolio, including further development at Booths Park in Knutsford, Cheshire. Through its joint venture with Trafford Council, it will progress the wider Stretford town centre masterplan following the successful launch of residential planning consultations.

Bruntwood SciTech will continue to deliver its £210 million development pipeline, alongside a UK-wide pipeline of refurbishments totalling £82 million.