Boost for landlords after West End back in fashion

SHARES in two of Britain’s biggest commercial landlords rose as shoppers flocked back to London’s West End.

Shaftesbury and Capital & Counties (Capco) – which between them own vast swathes of Covent Garden, Soho, Chinatown and Carnaby Street – warned that the value of their estates had fallen as rising interest rates wreaked havoc on the property market.

Shaftesbury saw the value of its portfolio slide 3.6pc to £3.2bn in the six months to September.

Capco’s valuation sank 2pc to £1.8bn in the three months to September.

But shares rose – with Shaftesbury up 2.23pc and Capco 2.71pc – as the outlook on the ground appeared brighter than feared.

Shaftesbury heralded the West End’s first summer without Covid restrictions, which helped boost shopper and visitor numbers.

Leasing activity remained stable over the six months to the end of September, the group added.

Meanwhile, Capco was upbeat on footfall and sales across Covent Garden. It has raked in £3m of contracted income since June and signed 35 new leases and renewals, including the jewellery brand Mejuri and the premium sportswear brand Hoka.

Two other stores signed by Capco are to open by Christmas alongside the launch of a partnership with Dolce & Gabbana.

Shaftesbury boss Brian Bickell hailed the ‘strong operational performance’ of the group’s portfolio despite economic uncertainty and higher interest rates. The landlords are set to complete a £3.5bn mega-merger in the first quarter next year if it is approved by the competition watchdog.

The FTSE 100 added 1.29pc, or 91.63 points, to 7186.16, and the FTSE 250 was up 1.71pc, or 305.97 points, to 18195.9.

Mining stocks gained on the back of rising metal prices, a weaker dollar and hopes that China could relax its zero-Covid policy. Glencore was up 4.86pc, or 24.3p, to 523.8p, Anglo American 6.06pc, or 158p, to 2,766.5p and Antofagasta added 4.72pc, or 55.5p, to 1,231p.

Ukraine-focused miner Ferrexpo warned it was drawing down stockpiles of its iron ore products to supply customers.

Shares sank 4.41pc, or 4.5p, to 97.6p following the news.

Retail and leisure stocks were on the front foot as the brighter mood on the markets lifted shares that have spent much of the year on the slide.

Asos gained 9.49pc, B&M was up 4.77pc and Sainsbury’s rose 2.67pc while pub chain Mitchells & Butlers rose 9.38pc.

Pest control and property care group Rentokil notched up another quarter of double- digit sales growth. The FTSE 100 firm reported an 18.9pc jump in total revenues to £901.3m in the third quarter. But shares fell 4.3pc, or 23.4p, to 521p.

IWG fell 0.08pc, or 0.1p, to 131.9p after it said profit for the year would be at the lower end of market expectations of between £304m and £380m.

Meanwhile, online electricals retailer AO World surged 8.5pc, or 3.8p, to 48.5p after it put the global chief digital officer at Pret A Manger on its board.

Aston Martin has appointed two representatives from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to its board.

The move came after the Saudis took an 18.67pc stake as the British carmaker raised fresh funds this summer – making them the second largest shareholder behind executive chairman Lawrence Stroll. Ahmed Al-Subaey, boss of the national shipping company of Saudi Arabia, and Frederick Robertson of PIF joined as non-executive directors yesterday.

Aston Martin shares were up 0.09pc, or 0.1p, to 105.7p.