Great Portland benefits from London strength

Property firm Great Portland Estates said London had continued to attract a significant flow of investment capital from around the world, resulting in a record leasing year.

Net assets per share at the end of March was 403p per share, an increase of 11.9% over the year, largely due to the rise in value of the company's property portfolio.

The firm recorded rental value growth of 7.8% on a like-for-like basis and pushed up its dividend slightly to 8.4p per share.

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However, the firm's profits were hit by development and refurbishment costs, which pushed adjusted pre-tax profits down 65% to £17.4m.

Chief Executive Toby Courtauld said the investment market continued to benefit from significant excess of demand for assets over supply, with the appetite from overseas investors at high levels.

"While occupational demand remains at around the long-term average, current availability of new space is considerably below the average and the resultant forecast supply crunch suggests that rental growth prospects are favourable in the medium term," he said.