Pillar Property plans

Pillar Property, the property investment and development company and retail park operator reported a 31.4 pct increase in pretax profit for the year to March and net asset value up 16 pct to 603 pence per share.

The company also announced today that it proposes a capital return of 108.6 mln stg, or 1 stg per share ,in August as it is now concentrating on the three funds to which it acts as property advisers and has discontinued activities outside retail parks and City offices.

Pillar named its new finance director today as Martin McGann who will take up the post from July 1. He joined Pillar in 2002. Humphrey Price, who has been finance director since Pillar was formed, will remain on the board as an executive director.

The group´s results showed pretax profit of 20.9 mln stg, up from 15.9 mln and rental income of 66.5 mln stg, up from 61.6 mln.

Earnings per share grew to 19.1 pence from 12 pence and the board recommended a final dividend of 6.1 pence for a total dividend of 8.5 pence, up from 8.0 pence.

Chairman Raymond Mould said Pillar has achieved a number of significant strategic goals this year, including completing the disposal of the remaining non-core assets.

He said the board is particularly pleased with the performance of HUT, the company´s retail park unit trust, which has become the UK’s leading property fund. 'We aim to replicate this success with our European retail park fund PREF, and we are currently looking at a number of further investment opportunities in several countries.'

The group is now entirely concentrated on its core business of retail property through our two retail park funds, HUT and PREF, and on City of London offices through CLOUT.
Mould said: 'We are very confident of the prospects in these markets and the potential returns for our shareholders as a result.'

www.efreeman.co.uk
Source: Freeman / AFX

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