Rent rises on way at Great Portland

THOUSANDS of central London shops and offices face rent rises over the next five years as Great Portland Estates carries out a series of reviews. The group has sold off its shopping centres outside London for £235m and 97% of its properties are in areas such as Oxford Street, Covent Garden, Holborn, the West End and City.

Reviews by leading estate agencies have shown that Great Portland could collect £12.5m more in rents from shops and offices in central London. These show that rents from Great Portland properties in the area north of Oxford Street are on average £25 a square foot, whereas they could charge £37.

The group admits that there has been a slight falling off in the value of commercial property in central London, but it still believes property in the capital will 'remain robust in the medium term'.

In the six months to September Great Portland made a pre-tax loss of £8.6m compared with a profit of £7.9m last time. The interim dividend is increased 2.5% to 3.33p. Great Portland shares fell 5% to 238 1/2p, down 12 1/2p.