Derwent London raises dividend as boss praises office market

The outgoing property veteran boss of Derwent London on Tuesday shrugged off Brexit and praised the capital’s bullish office market as the firm hiked its 2018 dividend.

The FTSE 250 firm, which John Burns has led since the 1980s, secured £26.8 million of new lettings last year.

Burns, who steps down in May to become non-executive chairman, said the office market “is still pretty solid” despite political uncertainty.

He pointed to the 240,000 square feet Brunel Building in Paddington, which Derwent London will have completed construction on later this year.

Deals for 77% of the space have been signed and the rest of the property is under offer. Burns said a number of would-be tenants are “disappointed” to have missed out.

Projects this year include a 285,000 square feet offices and shops development called Soho Place.

The firm upped its full-year dividend by 10.2% to 65.85p. Property director Paul Williams will take over as chief executive.

Elsewhere today, Irish property developer Green Reit’s boss Pat Gunne said Brexit has led many businesses to look at Dublin and Paris over London in selecting cities to expand in.

The value of Green Reit’s property empire rose 4.1% to €1.48 billion in the six months to December 31.