First Property sees 2018 results in line with market expectations

AIM-listed property fund manager and investor First Property said on Monday that its full-year pre-tax profit for 2018 should be in line with market expectations.

The company said in a year-end trading statement that funds under management were £625m, up 31% from the previous year. Of this, around £454m was held for clients, up 45%, and the group said almost all of the increase was due to new property investments in the UK.

Chief executive Ben Habib said: "The group is trading well across the board. The growth of our fund management division continues unabated; third party assets under management have increased by some 45% over the last year and are set to continue to grow. Meanwhile the contribution from Group Properties provides a reliable and substantial flow of profits.

"The markets in which we operate are generally buoyant and offering interesting investment opportunities on which we hope to capitalise."

First Property's preliminary results for the year to 31 March are due on 8 June.

At 1040 BST, the shares were up 1.5% to 50.25p.