CiTYWATCH LONDON DEVELOPERS ARE ON A ROLL citywatch.building.co.uk

摘要

What happens to the developers today happens to construction tomorrow, so they say, and if true, then it might be not as bad a year as many fear, write David Matthews anc lain Withers. Several London focused developers outperformed the FTSE 100 this week with a flurry of good news. Minerva confirmed that it was in takeover talks on 20 May, which sent an already hopeful share price skywards. Great Portland Estates also posted impressive results, including a 78% rise in pre-tax profit. However the real "blockbuster" results were those of Land Securities, says Graham Jones of Arbuthnot Securities. Profit was up 14%, rental values up 4.7%, and total asset values up 9.7% for the year to £10.6bn - making a triple whammy of good news for the developer that started work on the Walkie Talkie tower earlier this year with Canary Wharf group. "They were the first to start their development push," Jones says, "and there's a great deal of scope for more development."