Soho Estates sees value of property empire pass £1bn mark

The value of the London property empire built up by the late porn magnate Paul Raymond has surpassed £1 billion for the first time, Soho Estates said on Tuesday.

The West End landlord’s finance director Rachel Kennedy told the Evening Standard: “We have made major investments over the years and some projects are about to complete, including unveiling the new Boulevard Theatre in October and soon the reopening of night club Madame Jojo’s.”

Redevelopment lifted the estate value to above £1 billion in the year to March 31, from £975.6 million.

Pre-tax profits fell to £26 million from £43.8 million, but Kennedy said this was down to a one-off property revaluation gain a year earlier.

Raymond, known as the “King of Soho”, died in 2008 leaving a chunk of the property portfolio to granddaughters India Rose James and Fawn Lawson. John James, their father and Raymond’s son-in-law, is managing director.

No dividends were paid during the period.