St Modwen sees second half improvement after virus hit
Property giant St Modwen said its full-year results were hit by the Covid-19 health crisis, despite a "marked improvement" in the second half.
The company reported a pre-tax loss of £139.4 million for the year to November 30 2020, down from the profit of £58.9 million in 2019.
Revenue also slipped to £342.1 million, a decrease from £429.9 million.
But the Birmingham-based property investor and developer noted 1.1 per cent growth in the second half of the year.
St Modwen has said that it continued to grow its income-producing portfolio focused on urban and big box warehouses, with 97.9 per cent of rent collected and 6.1 per cent like-for-like rental growth.
The firm also completed 1.2m sq ft of new warehouse development during 2020.
Additionally, the business is on track to grow house completions by up to 25 per cent in 2021.
Chief executive Sarwjit Sambhi said: "St. Modwen delivered strong operational results in 2020 under extraordinary circumstances.
"Thank you to all our colleagues for their outstanding efforts and for overcoming the challenges posed by the pandemic. Our strategy is focused on two sectors, logistics and housebuilding, where structural demand is growing, acknowledging that the economic outlook is uncertain.
"These sectors make up 78 per cent of our portfolio today and will represent over 90 per cent within three years. In both, momentum is strong, and we have an attractive pipeline to accelerate growth."
