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The Queen's estate beats crunch with £211m profit
Jonathan Prynn and Sri Carmichael9 Jul 2008
The Queen's property empire has bucked the trend and emerged from the credit crunch with a record profit thanks to some well-timed deals in central London.
The £7.3 billion Crown Estate, one of the capital's biggest landowners, made £211.4 million, up nearly six per cent last year, according to accounts published today.
It is one of only few major property businesses in Britain to do better since the credit crisis started than in the boom years.
Its total investment return of 7.7 per cent compares with an average loss of
9.1 per cent in the property sector as a whole.
The huge portfolio of land, buildings, homes and seashore traces its roots to the Norman Conquest in 1066 and stretches from Plymouth to Shetland. Although the surplus from the estate no longer goes to the monarch and is returned to the Treasury, the Crown is still technically owner.
The Crown Estate's biggest success of recent years has been revitalising Regent Street, once one of London's dreariest shopping areas. It is also developing a neglected area of the West End known as The Quadrant between Regent Street and Soho.
Chief executive Roger Bright said: "This has been a challenging year for the property sector ... I am pleased to report that we have navigated through troubled waters with demonstrable success and are well positioned to face challenges that lie ahead."
Mr Bright said the Crown Estate had escaped the worst of the credit crunch with timely sales of properties, such as a 0.7-acre development on the corner of Oxford Street and Wardour Street.
It also swapped a parade of shops on struggling Kensington High Street for three blocks near Regent Street, including Victory House, which includes London's oldest Indian restaurant Veeraswamy.
The Crown Estate, which owns half the foreshore of Britain and the seabed out to 12 miles, has also played a key role in developing off-shore wind farms.
The figures, which cover the year up to the end of March, follow strong financial results from the Duchy of Cornwall, the property estate of the Prince of Wales.
Its profits were up seven per cent at £16.3 million and its overall value rose eight per cent to £647 million.
The revenues from the Crown Estate have gone to the Treasury since 1760 when George III agreed that they should be managed on behalf of the Government in return for a fixed annual payment to the king - the Civil List.
WINDSOR WEATHERS THE CREDIT STORM
WINDSOR Great Park, which is steeped in royal history, costs more than £2 million to maintain each year for the public, but the Crown Estate takes in more than double that from commercial and residential property in the grounds.
Money is also made from agriculture and forestry.
Although the park closed for six weeks in September 2007 due to an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, more people went to the new visitor centre at Savill Gardens than the previous year.
Ticketing at the car park at Virginia Water was modernised to make visiting easier.
TRANSFORMATION OF REGENT STREET
THE QUADRANT development, costing some £500 million, is one of the most significant regeneration schemes in the West End of recent decades.
The scruffy area at the bottom of Regent Street near Piccadilly Circus is being transformed into shops, offices and flats, including art deco rooms that housed Titanic Restaurant and Atlantic Bar and Grill. The Victorian Cafe Royal will be restored to former glory and Glasshouse Street will be pedestrianised. In total a 1million sq ft built area is being created. Westminster councillor Ian Wilder called it "the most fantastic scheme in the West End for more than 100 years".
Reader views (1)
Technically, the Crown sold their estate to the Government in the late 1700's when George III was King in exchange for a Royal pension (now known as the Civil List) The Crown Estate has been owned by the Govt for over 200 years, and is administered by the Inland Revenue. From the £211m annual income, it pays out just over £40m, earning some £160m profit.
So, maybe we'll have less of the "Queen costs taxpayers" headlines in the future. The correct headline ought to be "Queen loses out in relatives property deal".
- Steve, Cirencester, UK, 09/07/2008 13:49
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