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REG - Town Centre Secs. - Final Results <Origin Href="QuoteRef">TCSC.L</Origin>

RNS Number : 8639R
Town Centre Securities PLC
17 September 2014

For immediate release

Wednesday 17 September 2014

TOWN CENTRE SECURITIES PLC

Final results for the year ended 30 June 2014

Town Centre Securities PLC ("TCS"), the Leeds based property investment, development and car parking company, today announces its unaudited final results for the year ended 30 June 2014.

Financial highlights

Underlying* profit before tax 7.6m (2013: 7.4m)

Underlying* earnings per share 14.4p (2013: 13.7p)

Net assets per share 308p(2013: 267p); discount to net asset value of 25.3% at last night's closing share price of 230p

Triple net assets per share 320p (2013: 285p per share); discount to triple net asset value of 28.1%

Total dividends per share 10.44p (2013: 10.44p); proposed final dividend unchanged at 7.34p (2013: 7.34p)

Statutory profit before tax (including revaluation gains) 27.4m (2013: 3.6m)

Basic earnings per share (including revaluation gains) 51.6p (2013: 6.7p)

*Excluding valuation movement

Operational highlights

Another strong year's earnings

15.3% growth in net assets per share on the back of 10% like for like portfolio growth

Total shareholder return over 19%

Dividends unchanged at 10.44p per share

Good progress with Merrion Centre on New Front. Car Park upgrade underway

Morrisons lease renewed with 20% increase in the size of the store

Land acquired at Milngavie and development of a Waitrose supermarket underway

Property sales 8.9m with a further 7.5m completed in July

Apperley Bridge, value now 4.5m (2013: 2.8m), to be sold this year

Car park profit up 5% and first acquisition completed

Commenting on the results, Chairman and Chief Executive Edward Ziff, said:

"We have produced another strong trading performance and our properties are now starting to show some of the growth which we have seen in London recently.

Our returns to shareholders are showing the benefit of our continuing intensive management and regular churning of the portfolio. Recent letting deals in the Merrion Centre have been exceptional and we have seen excellent growth in value as well. The car park business has also out performed. We remain conservatively funded and committed to delivering superior cash returns to shareholders"

For further information, please contact:

Town Centre Securities PLC

www.tcs-plc.com

Edward Ziff, Chairman and Chief Executive

0113 222 1234

Duncan Syers, Finance Director

MHP Communications

Reg Hoare / Adam Leviton

020 3128 8100

Chairman and Chief Executive's statement

Introduction

I have now worked in Town Centre for 33 years and this is my eleventh year as Chairman. Throughout that time our strategy has been clear and constant - to produce exceptional cash returns for shareholders. We are extremely proud of our achievements - an investment of 1,000 in 1969 would now be worth 562,700. Against a sector average of 297,900 this is the 3rd best out of 12 comparable property companies.

These returns have been achieved through a combination of intensive management of our assets along with a conservative management style. We have extensively churned the portfolio in recent years to ensure that our funds are invested where there is likely to be growth. Our property management team have completed 184 transactions in the year in the process of maximising returns from the portfolio.

Portfolio performance

The like for like increase in value of our investment portfolio this year has been 10% which reflects an initial yield of 6.4% (2013: 7.2%) and a reversionary yield of 7.4% (2013: 7.5%). The total return from the portfolio is in line with the IPD index for all properties at 17.6%.

The strongest performing property was the Merrion Centre with a 16.3% increase in capital value and growth of over 1m pa in both passing rent and ERV, reflecting the benefit of the capital expenditure during the year. Overall the ERV has grown by 15% (3m) to 22.7m.

After including acquisitions and developments the portfolio at the year end stood at 325.2m (2013: 301.0m). The current occupancy rate is 97.5%.

Results

Our underlying profit before tax and exceptional items of 7.6m (2013: 7.3m) (excluding property revaluation) is ahead of expectations. Both the property and the car park businesses are ahead of the prior year.

We report a statutory profit for the year, after revaluation, of 27.4m (2013: 3.6m) which reflects the property revaluation surplus of 19.8m this year (2013 deficit 3.8m). On a like for like basis the investment portfolio showed an increase in value of 27m or 9.9%.

Underlying earnings per share were 14.4p (2013: 13.7p). Basic earnings per share (including the property valuation surplus) were 51.6p (2013: 6.7p).

Net assets at 30 June 2014 were 163.9m, representing 308 pence per share (2013: 141.9m, 267 pence per share). Triple net asset value was 170.4m, representing 320 pence per share (2013: 156.1m, 285 pence per share), the change reflecting principally the valuation gains this year.

Dividend

The Board is recommending a final dividend of 7.34 pence per share, which, together with the interim dividend of 3.1 pence per share, provides an unchanged total dividend of 10.44 pence per share. The final dividend will be paid on 5 January 2015 to shareholders on the register on 5 December 2014.

Funding

Net debt at 30 June 2014 amounted to 160.5m (2013: 158.4m). This comprised 106.1m of 5.375% First Mortgage Debenture Stock 2031 and 54.4m of revolving credit facilities and overdrafts. Gearing stands at 97.9% (2013: 112%) and borrowings represent 49.4% of property values (2013: 52.6%)

Following the completion of a 10m extension of our facility with RBS to fund the Milngavie development, the company retains revolving credit facilities of 100m (expiring 2015/16) and an overdraft facility of 5m. Our interest cover was 2.01 times (2013: 1.95 times)

Property portfolio

Merrion Centre - this has been a special year for the Merrion Centre which celebrated its 50th anniversary in May and is very much at the heart of our portfolio being by far our largest asset. We continue to see good returns on our refurbishment and investment programme with our Arena Quarter retail, leisure and car park project (the New Front) opposite the new First Direct Arena nearing completion with further expenditure of 6.5m this year bringing the total to 9.4m. We leased a further four units, renewed the lease on MFA Bowl and as a result, 76% of the rental income is now secured on an average weighted unexpired term of 13.6 years. Interest in the remaining units is strong with the adjoining new Leeds Arena building upon an excellent first year hosting a diverse range of international concerts (from artists including: Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Andrea Bocelli, Rod Stewart and Elton John) family shows (Cirque du Soleil, Strictly Come Dancing, Ant and Dec) to national conferences for Teach First and sports events including BBC's Sports Personality of the Year and the launch of the Grand Depart to the Tour de France. The additional 7.6m refurbishment of the multi storey car park began in February and is scheduled to complete in December this year.

I am also delighted to announce that we have agreed a significant lease renewal with Morrisons. This will result in an expansion of their store by around 20% and will add approximately 500,000 pa to rental income. The transaction relocates Peacocks and 3 Store within the Centre significantly improving the overall retail offering.

We continue to work with Leeds City Council on Merrion House; the deal we have agreed will lead to the construction of 50,000 sq ft of new office space together with a complete refurbishment of the existing offices creating 170,000 sq ft of purpose designed space for their occupation. Upon completion the Council will take a new long lease and become a co-owner. The valuation of TCS' share of the asset will significantly increase as well as adding around 250,000 pa to rental income. Construction is scheduled to commence in 2015 for occupation in 2017.

We have other schemes coming through at Merrion and we continue to manage the income intensively. During the year in addition to the New Front, we completed 22 new leases and other transactions taking the non-car park income from 7,156,000 to 7,491,000 maintaining an average occupancy level of over 98%. There are now:

Over 130 leases and licences with an average weighted unexpired term of 11.4 years

10 tenants including Leeds City Council that produce 62% of total income with an average weighted unexpired term of 14.6 years

Scotland - We regard ourselves as one of the few quoted property companies with specialist knowledge actively investing in provincial property in the North of England and Scotland. In these markets local know-how is crucial to delivering above average returns.

We await the outcome of the independence referendum in Scotland where we have 65m of investment property principally in Glasgow and Edinburgh. In the most part these properties are prime and very well let so we remain confident that their quality will ensure long term performance. Given the uncertainty created by the vote, during the last 12 months we have disposed of approximately 20% of the portfolio at prices in excess of book value to ensure that those properties that remain will perform whatever the outcome.

As testament to our confidence and commitment we have progressed our development in Milngavie near Glasgow of a 36,500 sq ft foodstore let to Waitrose with construction due for completion in late spring 2015. This will add over 10m to our current portfolio.

Residential Development - we obtained planning consent for our residential scheme at Apperley Bridge near Leeds. Demolition and site preparation is now nearing completion and we will report further progress in due course.

Whitehall Riverside - we have detailed planning consent for a 128 bedroom hotel and outline consent for 600,000 sq ft of mixed use development including 3 eight storey office buildings and a 500 space multi-storey car park. Tenant demand is growing as there is little or no grade A space with 25,000 sq ft floor plates available in Leeds. We are pursuing a number of preliminary discussions as we continue to maximise our development gain.

Property sales - we have sold 5 properties in Scotland this year for a total of 8.9m which is around 250,000 in excess of book value. We also exchanged a contract for the sale of 6/7 Park Row Leeds for 7.5m during the year with completion in July. There was an imminent lease expiry at this property which would have necessitated a significant refurbishment and as a result of the sale we have seen a total return of nearly 20% during our period of ownership.

These sales were at a blended yield of 8% so they will impact on income in future years; we believe that they had stagnated in value and income terms so the funds will be better utilised elsewhere.

Property acquisitions - we have added a property in Holloway Road London to our portfolio of suburban shops let to excellent covenants and, immediately after the year end we completed the purchase of a retail/office investment in Duke Street London W1 for 3.1m.

Car parking

Car parking revenue has increased by 4% to 5.1m and profit is up to 2.6m. Performance has been strong at Whitehall Road, Leeds (due to contraction of supply) and Manchester (due to increased business contracts). Revenue has decreased at Merrion due to the refurbishment works although the disruption has been minimised through intensive management. We are scheduled to complete the works in December this year and we will be aggressively marketing what will be one of the best car parks in Leeds.

We are also re-branding the business this year as CitiPark and we made our first acquisition of a 600 space multi-storey car park in Ilford. We acquired a long leasehold interest for 2.5m and we are currently upgrading it with a new parking management system. We will be controlling the operations from our 24/7 control room in Leeds to minimise local overheads and maximise customer service. We have a number of further deals in the pipeline and expect the portfolio to expand significantly over the next year.

We will also be upgrading the Manchester car park this year after which all of our branches will have state of the art technological systems. This will be our model for our future expansion.

Outlook

As we emerge from the problems of recent years we are seeing some extraordinary figures emanating from London and the South East. While we have seen growth in the regions it has been and remains patchy.

In this environment it is extremely important to keep focused on hands-on intensive management, to be selective in acquisitions and to sell assets which do not fit this strategy.

We expect to see continued growth from the Merrion Centre as we continue with its regeneration and we are optimistic about our Scottish portfolio once the disruption from the referendum settles down. Manchester as a city remains active and we hope to make further progress this year. We have also started investing selectively in London, particularly in suburban shops.

We expect to see good performance from all these sectors this year along with the expansion of the car park business; and we look forward to continuing to provide shareholders with above average cash returns.

As ever, I would like to thank our loyal and dedicated staff for their commitment to Town Centre Securities PLC. They remain focused on maintaining and creating value on behalf of our shareholders.

Edward M Ziff
Chairman and Chief Executive
17 September 2014









INCOME ANALYSIS


Passing rent

Proportion of

ERV

Initial yield

Reversionary




m

portfolio %



Yield









Retail and Leisure

4.5

23.0%

5.2

5.8%

6.6%

Merrion Centre (excl offices)

7.8

40.0%

8.4

7.5%

8.1%

Office

4.3

22.0%

4.4

6.4%

6.5%

Out of Town Retail

2.5

12.9%

4.3

5.2%

8.9%

Residential

0.4

2.1%

0.4

4.8%

4.9%









Let portfolio

19.5

100.0%

22.7

6.4%

7.4%































PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

Value

Proportion of

Valuation

LIKE FOR LIKE


m

Portfolio %

Movement %







Retail and Leisure


73.9

24.6%

5.9%

Merrion Centre (excl offices)


98.0

32.6%

23.3%

Office



63.6

21.1%

5.2%

Out of Town Retail


45.9

15.2%

2.2%

Residential and car parking


19.7

6.5%

1.4%







Total Portfolio


301.0

100%

9.9%






.

RENT ROLL BY LEASE EXPIRY AND VOIDS












0-5 years

5-10 years

Over 10 years

Retail & Leisure



30.8%

52.9%

16.3%

Shopping Centres



25.0%

41.6%

33.4%

Office




31.9%

36.9%

31.1%

Out of Town Retail



22.6%

77.4%

0.0%








Total Portfolio



27.5%

49.0%

23.5%














GEOGRAPHICAL SPLIT BY LOCATION




INCLUDING ACQUISITIONS









m

% by value

Leeds City Region




195.8

62.0%

Greater Manchester



46.5

14.7%

Glasgow and Edinburgh



65.3

20.7%

London




8.1

2.6%













Total Portfolio



315.6

100.0%







TOP 10 TENANTS











- Passing Rent 1m+


Leeds City Council

- Between 500k - 1m


Wm Morrison




Waitrose




Homebase




Matalan




Lloyds Bank Plc




Pure Gym

- Between 250k - 500K


Stepchange




Aldi




Dune Group Ltd







Consolidated income statement





for the year ended 30 June 2014












2014

2013



'000

'000


Gross revenue

22,633

22,427


Property expenses

(3,679)

(3,879)


Net revenue

18,954

18,548


Administrative expenses

(4,679)

(4,183)


Other income

852

734


Valuation movement on investment properties

19,805

(3,806)


Operating profit

34,932

11,293


Finance costs

(7,585)

(7,676)


Share of post tax profits from joint ventures

87

(54)


Profit before taxation

27,434

3,563


Taxation

-

(5)


Profit for the year attributable to owners of the Parent

27,434

3,558


Earnings per ordinary share of 25p each




Basic

51.6p

6.7p


Diluted

51.6p

6.7p


Underlying (non-GAAP measures)

14.4p

13.7p


Dividends per ordinary share




Paid during the year

10.44p

10.44p


Proposed

7.34p

7.34p




















Consolidated statement of comprehensive income


for the year ended 30 June 2014

















2014

2013



'000

'000


Profit for the year

27,434

3,558


Other comprehensive income




Revaluation gain on cash flow hedges

298

237


Revaluation gains on other investments

112

20


Total comprehensive income for the year

27,844

3,815


All recognised income for the year is attributable to owners of the Parent.















Consolidated balance sheet




as at 30 June 2014









2014

2013



'000

'000


Non-current assets




Investment properties

317,696

301,037


Fixtures, equipment and motor vehicles

1,112

904


Investments in joint ventures

1,748

1,662


Unamortised tenant lease incentives

3,789

3,705


Total non-current assets

324,345

307,308


Current assets




Non Current assets held for sale

7,500



Investments

1,734

1,766


Trade and other receivables

4,705

4,190


Total current assets

13,939

5,956


Total assets

338,284

313,264


Current liabilities




Trade and other payables

(13,908)

(12,691)


Financial liabilities - borrowings

(1,845)

(3,688)


Derivative financial instruments


(298)


Total current liabilities

(15,753)

(16,677)


Net current liabilities

(1,814)

(10,721)


Non-current liabilities




Financial liabilities - borrowings

(158,660)

(154,684)


Total non-current liabilities

(158,660)

(154,684)


Total liabilities

(174,413)

(171,361)


Net assets

163,871

141,903


Equity attributable to the owners of the Parent




Called up share capital

13,290

13,290


Share premium account

200

200


Other reserves

559

261


Retained earnings

149,822

128,152


Total equity

163,871

141,903


Net assets per share

308p

267p













Consolidated statement of changes in equity





as at 30 June 2014
















Share


Capital




Share

premium

Hedging

redemption

Retained

Total


capital

account

Reserve[1]

Reserve[1]

earnings

equity


'000

'000

'000

'000

'000

'000

Balance at 1 July 2013

13,290

200

(298)

559

128,152

141,903

Profit for the year





27,434

27,434

Other comprehensive income:






-

- Revaluation gain on cash flow hedge



298



-

- Revaluation gains on other investments





112

112

Total comprehensive income

-

-

298

-

27,546

27,844

for the year ended 30 June 2014






-

Other adjustments






Final dividend relating to the year





(3,902)

(3,902)

ended 30 June 2013 paid in January 2014






Interim dividend relating to the year





(1,974)

(1,974)

ended 30 June 2014 paid in June 2014














-

-

-

-

(5,876)

(5,578)

Balance at 30 June 2014

13,290

200

-

559

149,822

163,871













Consolidated cash flow statement






for the year ended 30 June 2014















2014



000

000


000

000

Cash flows from operating activities






Cash generated from operations

14,938



14,977


Interest Received/Paid

(7,585)



(7,861)


Tax paid

-



(5)


Net cash generated from operating activities


7,353



7,111

Cash flows from investing activities






Purchases and refurbishment of investment properties

(13,215)



(12,406)


Acquisition of shares in Apperley Bridge Limited

-



(1,370)


Settlement of Apperley Bridge Limited Obligations

-



(1,000)


Purchases of plant and equipment

(490)



(389)


Proceeds from sale of investment properties

9,010



2,496


Other Sundry Items

-



101


Net cash (used in)/generated from investing activities


(4,695)



(12,669)

Cash flows from financing activities






Proceeds from other non-current borrowings

970



8,900


Dividends paid to shareholders

(5,085)



(4,787)


Net cash generated from/(used in) financing activities


(4,115)



4,113

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents


(1,457)



(1,344)

Cash and cash equivalents at 1 July


(388)



956

Cash and cash equivalents at 30 June



(1,845)



(388)



Segment assets








2014

2013






000

000





Property rental

302,775

300,835





Car park operations

13,621

12,429






316,396

313,264













Segmental results









2014



Property

Car park



Property

Car park



rental

operations

Total


rental

operations

Total


000

000

000


000

000

000

Gross revenue

17,532

5,101

22,633


17,499

4,928

22,427

Property expenses

(1,634)

(2,045)

(3,679)


(1,815)

(2,064)

(3,879)

Net revenue

15,898

3,056

18,954


15,684

2,864

18,548

Administrative expenses

(4,259)

(420)

(4,679)


(3,830)

(353)

(4,183)

Other income

852

-

852


732

2

734

Property valuation movement

20,155

(350)

19,805


(1,816)

(1,990)

(3,806)

Operating profit

32,646

2,286

34,932


10,770

523

11,293

Finance Income/costs

(7,585)

-

(7,585)


(7,676)

-

(7,676)

Share of post tax profits from joint ventures

87

-

87


(54)

-

(54)

(Loss)/profit before taxation

25,148

2,286

27,434


3,040

523

3,563

Taxation charge

-

-

-


(5)

-

(5)

(Loss)/profit for the year

25,148

2,286

27,434


3,035

523

3,558

All results are derived from the UK.








2. Administrative expenses




2014

2013


000

000

Employee benefits

3,086

2,817

Depreciation

203

186

Charitable donations

108

91

Other

1,282

1,089


4,679

4,183







3. Taxation




2014

2,013


000

000

Analysis of tax charge in year



Current tax:



- Adjustment in respect of previous years

-

5

Total taxation

-

5




4. Underlying Profit/Earnings per share (EPS)








To assist shareholders in understanding the underlying results and compare to those results in previous accounting periods, adjustments made to the profit before taxation are:










2014




Weighted




Weighted




average




average




number of

Earnings



number of

Earnings


Earnings

shares

per share


Earnings

shares

per share


0

0

p


000

0

p

Basic/Diluted Profit/EPS

27,434

53,162

51.6


3,558

52,967

6.7

Valuation deficit/(surplus) on investment and development properties

(19,805)


(37.3)


3,806

-

7.2

Underlying Profit/EPS

7,629

53,162

14.4


7,364

52,967

13.9

The 2013 underlying profit/EPS has increased by 89,000/0.2p per share as immaterial adjustments have been removed from the calculation









5. Dividends




2014

2013


000

000

2012 final paid: 7.34p per 25p share


3,902

2013 interim paid: 3.10p per 25p share


1,648

2013 final paid: 7.34p per 25p share

3,902


2014 interim paid: 3.10p per 25p share

1,974



5,876

5,550




6. Non-current assets





(a) Investment properties







Long




Freehold

leasehold

Development

Total


000

000

000

000

Valuation at 1 July 2013 - investment properties

274,116

13,360

13,561

301,037

Investment property refurbishment

10,071

2,639

505

13,215

Disposals

(8,861)

-


(8,861)

Transfer of Assets held for sale

(7,500)



(7,500)

Transfer of Apperley Bridge

(4,500)


4,500

-

Valuation movement

19,891

(78)

(8)

19,805

Valuation at 30 June 2014

283,217

15,921

18,558

317,696

The fair value of the group's investment and development properties has been determined principally by independent, appropriately qualified external valuers Jones Lang LaSalle (in respect of 109,030,000) and CB Richard Ellis (in respect of 180,750,000 of investment properties and 7,500,000 shown in assets held for sale). The remainder of the portfolio comprising 27,916,000 of development properties have been valued by the Property Director.

Valuations are performed bi-annually and are performed consistently across all properties in the group's portfolio. At each reporting date appropriately qualified employees verify all significant inputs and review computational outputs. Valuers submit and present summary reports to the Property Director and the Board on the outcome of each valuation round.

Valuations take into account tenure, lease terms and structural condition. The inputs underlying the valuations include market rents or business profitability, incentives offered to tenants, forecast growth rates, market yields and discount rates and selling costs including stamp duty.

The development properties principally comprise land in Leeds and Manchester; these have been valued taking into account the income from car parking and the Property Director's assessment of their realisable value in their existing state and condition based on market evidence of comparable transactions.

The Property Director's valuation of residential property acquired for potential development is supported by market evidence available as at 30 June 2014.

The valuation of investment properties includes 0.02m (2013: 0.1m) in respect of borrowing costs capitalised during the year.

Investment properties are analysed as follows:




2014

2013


000

000

Investment property (externally valued)

289,780

279,304

Development properties

18,558

13,561

Residential property acquired for potential development

3,804

3,804

Other

5,554

4,368


317,696

301,037




(b) Fixtures, equipment and motor vehicles





Accumulated


Cost

depreciation


000

000

At 1 July 2013

3,281

2,377

Additions

490

-

Depreciation

-

282

At 30 June 2014

3,771

2,659

Net book value at 30 June 2014


1,112

7. Share capital

Authorised

164,879,000 (2013: 164,879,000) ordinary shares of 25p each. Nominal value of authorised share capital is 41,219,750 (2013: 41,219,750).

Issued and fully paid




Number of

Nominal


shares

value

Ordinary shares of [25]p each

0

000

At 30 June 2013

53,162

13,290

Issued on take up of share options



At 30 June 2014

53,162

13,290







8. Cash flow from operating activities




2014

2013


000

000

Profit for the financial year

27,434

3,558

Adjustments for:



- Tax charge

-

5

- Depreciation

282

223

- Profit on disposal of investment properties

59

4

- Profit on disposal of listed investments

(140)

(85)

- Gain on acquisition of subsidiary

-

(41)

- Profit on disposal of development properties

-

-

- Profit on disposal of other fixed assets

-

(3)

- Finance expense

7,585

7,676

- Share of joint venture profits after tax

87

54

- Movement in valuation of investment and development properties

(19,805)

3,806

- Increase in receivables

(678)

(266)

- Increase/(decrease) in payables

114

46

Cash generated from operations

14,938

14,977

9. "Triple" net asset value per share







To assist shareholders in understanding the results, the table below shows how the "triple" net asset value was arrived at:


2014

2013


000

000

Closing net assets

163,871

141,903

Less: debenture issue premium

(190)

(201)

Add: debenture mark to market after tax

6,737

9,881


170,418

151,583

Shares in issue (000)

53,162

53,162

"Triple" net asset value per share

320p

285p


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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