Yahoo Finance Business rates bigger threat than Brexit, warns Intu Properties
Business rates are more of a concern than Brexit for UK retailers at the moment, the boss of shopping centres landlord intu Properties declared on Thursday.
Chief executive David Fischel sounded the alarm as the firm revealed strong 2016 figures, which sent shares in the Lakeside owner up by more than 6%.
He said a number of retail tenants will be hit with a hike in rates from April owing to the Government’s revaluation of commercial property.
The “increases are far too high and out of line” with bills rivals pay abroad, he added.
But Fischel was more upbeat as he said rental income was up by 3.6% to £447 million last year, helped by store openings from lingerie firm Victoria’s Secret and Cath Kidston.
The firm, which has 17 centres including intu Watford, said Britain’s vote to leave the EU had not hit shopper numbers.
Footfall increased by 1.3% and intu lifted its full-year dividend by 2% to 14p per share.
It blamed a 63% pre-tax profit fall to £188.3 million on much smaller rises in property values than in previous years.
The company was one of the biggest risers on the FTSE 100 following the update.
The shares were up by 16.9p to 292.3p.
