24 February 2022
If you are covering Derwent London’s results, please see the following comment from Oli Creasey, head of property research at Quilter Cheviot:
“Derwent London has long been known as a developer of high quality office buildings in Central London, and this has insulated the company from the worst of the pandemic’s impact. With pandemic restrictions ending, the company is expected to continue on its growth trajectory and lead the way in the London office market.
“In the company’s 2021 results released this morning, Derwent reported a 3.5% increase in property values, outperforming general Central London indices and more than reversing the -3% experienced in 2020. London is increasingly becoming a two tier market; with high demand and values for the best properties, but a more challenging environment for the rest. Derwent is firmly in the former camp, the best evidence of which is the company’s vacancy rate of 1.6%, versus the wider London Office market which is above 9%. Demand for Derwent’s buildings remain high, and the company reports renewed levels of interest in leasing its properties since the end of work-from-home rules.
“The standing assets are of high quality, but it is Derwent’s developments which really add value, with the development pipeline increased in value by 9% over the year. These developments are the high quality buildings of tomorrow.”
