Shaftesbury Capital says trading conditions in London's West End 'positive'

(Reuters) -Shaftesbury Capital said trading conditions across its West End locations in London were "positive", with customer sales now tracking 15%, ahead of 2019 levels as the UK property firm's prime tenant base steadily recovered from pandemic lows.

British landlords heavily exposed to discretionary retailers and hospitality firms are gradually bouncing back to operational strength after pandemic-related restrictions had battered their revenue streams and property values.

"Despite macroeconomic uncertainty, the heart of the West End remains attractive with competition for space in our areas anticipated to remain healthy, underpinning rental growth prospects," the company said on Thursday.

The tenants from the retail and hospitality & leisure segments almost equally share about two-thirds of the group's 4.9 billion pounds ($6.22 billion) portfolio.

The FTSE 250 company underscored excellent operational momentum and leasing activity along with low vacancy rates at its properties.

Shaftesbury Capital, which is reporting its first set of financial results after two of London's major property firms completed their merger in March, said the valuation of its wholly-owned portfolio was unchanged from pro forma December 2022 figures.

The steady valuation levels make Shaftesbury Capital an outlier in the sector as British commercial property firms grapple with steep declines in asset valuations and mounting debt costs on the back of high interest rates.

Last year, Shaftesbury and Capital & Counties Properties agreed to merge, giving the combined group control over one of London's most popular retail and leisure destinations.

($1 = 0.7873 pounds)

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Bernadette Baum)