Crown Estate assets value slumps by £1bn

Published 09th Jul 2009

The Crown Estate has taken a big hit from the property market downturn, losing more than £1 billion from the value of its assets, the first decline for 16 years.

The estate, one of the UK's biggest owners of rural land, shopping parks, prime central London office space and marine estates, said in its Annual Report that the total value of all of its holdings had fallen last year by 18 per cent to £6 billion, reflecting the wider fortunes of the market. The total value has not fallen since 1993.

Roger Bright, chief executive, said: "This year saw the Crown Estate deliver a sound performance in challenging circumstances, largely due to a diversified portfolio based on high-quality, sustainable assets."

The main duties of the Crown Estate, which has managed property on behalf of the state for the past 1,000 years, is to benefit the taxpayer by paying revenue from assets to the Treasury and to enhance the value of the estate and the income it generates. Despite the significant fall in values, it said that income rose by 6.1 per cent to £226.5 million.

A total return of 15.8 per cent last year outperformed the industry benchmark, which was down by 25.5 per cent in the last quarter, according to the Investment Property Databank.

Revenue from the urban estate rose by 3.3 per cent over the year to £213.3 million, but urban property, including property in St James and Regent Street, London, suffered a decline in value of 21 per cent to £4.2 billion.

In contrast, revenue from the Windsor Estate, which includes Windsor Great Park, rose by 8.5 per cent, or £6.3 million. However, the best performers were the marine estate, where gross revenue increased by 18.5 per cent to £49.7 million, and the rural estate, where revenue rose by 18.9 per cent to £26.7 million.

The Crown Estate is currently modernising some of its properties to a higher environmental standard and using its assets to generate renewable energy.

Source: ' Times '

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