Grosvenor profit boost

THE Duke of Westminster’s property business was back in the black after a difficult couple of years during the Covid pandemic.

Grosvenor Group turned a £437.5m pre-tax profit in 2021, after the duke’s property empire lost £332.8m in 2020. The news is a boon for the 31-year-old seventh Duke of Westminster, who dropped a spot to 13th place on this year’s Sunday Times rich List with a fortune of £9.7bn.

Dividends are back on track at the group, with the board agreeing to pay the duke a £47.8m windfall, up from £32.2m in 2020.

But it still felt heat from the tail end of the pandemic last year. Valuations remained ‘subdued’ as central London grappled with Covid.