Mactaggart property firm sees profits increase
MACTAGGART Heritable Holdings, the historic Scottish property company, has lifted profits as it sought to maximise returns on its investments in New York and London.
The Glasgow-registered business, owned by the family of Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart, boosted group turnover by 68 per cent million to £16.8 million, accounts newly filed at Companies House show.
That came after its Swallowfield Hayes subsidiary raised £4m from property sales, and hotel revenue grew by £2.8m. Hotels owned by the company include luxury group Nadler, which has properties in London and Liverpool.
The accounts show the company, set up by Sir John Mactaggart in the 1890s to build tenements in Springburn, booked pre-tax profits of £6.9m in the year ended December, up from £6.1m the year before.
The period saw Mactaggart grow shareholder funds by £15.5m to £164.3m – having increased £17.8m to £148.9m the year prior.
According to the directors, the growth in shareholder funds was largely down to the revaluation of properties owned by Western Heritable Investment Company, its chief trading entity – Nadler Hotels and 589 Associates, its New York-based office commercial property division.
Dividends paid to shareholders during the year came in at £3m, rising from £2.6m in 2013.
“The directors recommend that no further dividend paid in respect of the 2014 financial year and that the balance on the profit and loss account of £58.77m (2013- £66.05m) be carried
forward,” the company states in the accounts.
Other developments highlighted by the accounts include an increase in the value of the company’s freehold property portfolio by £3.9m to £49.1m. No sales were made by the division over the year.
The company also increased its investments in joint ventures by £6.96m, having fallen by £12.3m in 2013, while profit generated from the sale of investments was booked at £0.5m.
The directors said: “The group continued to seek to maximise returns from its property portfolio in London and New York and to pursue other investments which would seek to add to those retur ns. The directors manage the risks inherent in the property market within which the group operates through constantly reviewing market conditions and reacting accordingly.
“The director s were pleased with the performance of the hotel subsidiaries and look forward to the opening of the fourth hotel in Victoria, London.”
The account show directors’ remuneration climbed to £877,000 from £744,000, with the highest-paid director paid £345,000, up from £321,000 last year.
Scottish housebuilder Mactaggart & Mickel has its origins in the business. In 1925, the son of Sir John Mactaggart, Jack, formed Mactaggart Mickel with Andrew Mickel, leaving Western Heritable to concentrate on rentals.