JAMIE CARR: Group Five — another corpse among the construction pile
The particular noose around Group Five’s neck was its catastrophic Kpone power station contract in Ghana that made a healthy contribution to operating losses of more than R2bn
It may sound a little counterintuitive to be giving a pat on the back to anybody within a mile of the UK retail property sector, given the amount of column inches dedicated to bemoaning its predicament, but Capital & Regional is doing a handy job of making the best of the situation. Its full-year results show profits on the up, footfall rising and new lettings and renewals being achieved at rents that are on average higher than previous numbers, while occupancy remained strong at a highly creditable 97%. The company doesn’t shy from discussing the challenges that the sector is facing after a string of retailer failures and the prevalence of the company voluntary arrangement, which is the negotiating equivalent of the gun to the head, and which cost the company £1.5m in reduced rent over the year. The next big concern is the state of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group, whose 570 shops are looking to be slashing rents. Green himself is built along the lines of a Weeble, the egg-shaped 1...
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