Friday, 17 April 2009

Grosvenor-pool credit crunched big time

WILL THE DUKE OF WESTMINSTER NOW HAVE TO CUT COSTS AND SCALE BACK ON THE HIGH CLASS HOOKERS.
GROSVENOR-POOL THEY TOLD US IT WAS TO BE SO COOL..........but now..... THE TRUTH COMES OUT it was never going to be in budget but it doesnt matter to the Duke they have done the land grab deal o the century and now own half of the city centre.
RODNEY HOLMES WHO TOOK ALL THE CREDIT FOR IT ALL DOES THIS NOW MEAN HE GETS THE BLAME.
picture took last week.
Duke of Westnminster loses £165m as downturn hits Liverpool One
Apr 17 2009 by Bill Gleeson, Liverpool Daily Post

THE Duke of Westminster has seen the value of his investment in city centre shopping development Liverpool One slip by £165.3m during 2008 according to figures published yesterday.
The Duke’s company, Grosvenor, blamed the international credit crunch and the economic downturn for the write off.
Yesterday’s bad news follows similar write downs of £49m last year and £140m the year before.
It means what was a £1bn project has now seen a total of £354m wiped off its value.
Grosvenor says 90% of the 1.6m sq ft Liverpool One scheme, opened in two phases last year, is let.
The company remains confident about its long-term future.
Mark Preston, group chief executive, said: “This is a challenging time for the property industry and inevitably Grosvenor has been affected.
“But the impact has been cushioned by our well-diversified portfolio, low (debts) and steps taken since 2007 to curb acquisitions and reduce our development exposure. Hence, the impact on net asset value is relatively limited.”
Anticipating poorer economic conditions, Grosvenor has reduced its exposure to the credit crunch by delaying the start of new projects while concentrating on completing existing ones, including Liverpool One.
Grosvenor had cash and undrawn committed facilities with its bankers amounting to £523m, compared to £607m in 2007.
Mr Preston continued: “2009 is likely to be another difficult year of continued credit restrictions and poor confidence in the occupier markets. Looking beyond the downturn, our significant financial capacity puts us in a good position to take advantage of the excellent buying opportunities which will arise as the property market recovers.”
Grosvenor reported a total return on property assets in 2008 of -4.1%, or -8.6% at constant exchange rates. This compared with a positive return of 14.4% (12.8% at constant exchange rates) in 2007. The net asset value of the group’s international operation was down 7.4%, from £3.1bn to £2.8bn.
Grosvenor said it benefited from its geographical and sector diversification, currency gains and a conservative approach to borrowing.
A group-wide pre-tax loss of £593.9m, in 2008, compared with a profit of £524m the previous year. The pre-tax loss does not take into account currency gains of £304m, shown in reserves.
The write-downs in recent years bring the carrying value of Liverpool One down to £650m and result from an annual independent valuation report.
Peter Vernon, chief executive of Grosvenor’s UK and Ireland portfolio, said the reduction in the value of Liverpool One reflects a rise in rental yields in the retail property market.
He said: “The capital values have fallen but not the rental values.
“I feel strongly that Liverpool One has the potential for very good long-term performance.
“It’s a destination which offers a great trading environment and that means we have faith in it as a long-term investment.”

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