Derwent London experiences 'good demand' in H1

Property investment and development business Derwent London said on Thursday that it had seen "good demand" for its locations despite the current uncertain macro environment.

Derwent London posted a 3% increase in total returns in the six months ended 30 June, up from 2.7% a year earlier, while EPRA net tangible assets per share rose 1.6% to 4,023.0p.

Net rental income grew 4.2% to £93.9m and IFRS pre-tax profits increased 13.2% to £137.1m.

EPRA earnings, on the other hand, dropped 1.7% to 53.13p per share.

The FTSE 250-listed group said lettings of £7.1m were above its December estimated rental value, while renewals and regears of £6.2m were 8.0% above its December ERV and reviews of £5.5m were 6.2% above the December ERV.

Derwent, which reiterated its full-year ERV guidance, also declared an interim dividend of 24.0p, up 4.3% year-on-year.

Chief executive Paul Williams said: "We are seeing good demand for our distinctive brand of high-quality offices, with short supply of prime space in our core locations. Despite the uncertain macro environment, the continuing flight to quality combined with our strong financial position gives us confidence that we are well placed with a pipeline of value-adding opportunities."

As of 0820 BST, Derwent shares were down 0.65% at 2,742.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com