Capital projects fuel property firm’s profit
York-based property developer S Harrison, which has madeasubstantialinvestment in Edinburgh in recent years, has reported record annual profits.
Unveiling a profit before tax of £12.4 million for 2018, up from £4.7m a year earlier, the firm said its low gearing, strong balance sheet and significant cash reserves would allow it to build further on its success, focusing on off-market opportunities.
Full-year turnover came in at almost £47.1m, up from £29.2m. At the end of the year, net assets totalled £55.9m, compared with £46m the year before, of which some £16.8m was held in cash.
Chairman Martyn Harrison said: “By any standards that is an excellent achievement. Despite a record profit performance in 2018, what pleases me more is the longer view.
“Because development is a business with peaks and troughs, a more important measure of success is the group’s consistency of profit performance over time. Taking a rolling three-year perspective to level out those peaks and troughs, the company continues to show sustained and impressive growth.”
In Edinburgh, the firm is currently converting the Grade A-listed Buchan House, on the north-west corner of St Andrew Square, where it meets North St David Street, into a 72-bedroom Malmaison hotel. Work is due to complete in November.
It has also submitted planning applications to create two student accommodation schemes, on Gorgie Road and another close to Murrayfield.