Capital & Counties posts negative return as Earl's Court valuation drops

Capital & Counties Property reported a negative total return for 2017 as the value of the London landlord’s Earls Court properties fell sharply.

Total return, the change in net assets plus dividends for the year, was minus 1.3% in the year to the end of December. The total value of the company’s property portfolio fell 0.9% to £3.5bn as gains at Covent Garden were offset by a reduction in the valuation of Earl’s Court.

The value of the Covent Garden estate, which includes large swathes of the district’s commercial property, rose 4.3% to £2.5bn but the value of Earl’s Court, in West London, dropped 11.8% to £979m. Capital & Counties said the results showed Covent Garden and London’s West End thriving but pressure on residential property values in Earl’s Court due to uncertainty in the market.

Ian Durant, Capital & Counties’ chairman, said: "Both of our central London estates had a very active year in which Capco made good operational progress. The Covent Garden estate, which now represents over 70 per cent of property value, delivered strong performance and value growth. Economic and political uncertainty has impacted the London residential market, resulting in a decline in the valuation of our Earls Court interests.”

The company held its annual dividend at 1.5p a share and reported a £6.5m annual loss from continuing operations, lower than the £127m loss a year earlier.

The company's shares fell 3.6% to 269p at 10:07 GMT.