King Charles’ Crown Estate has suffered a £500mln loss among its London assets over the past year as property values in the capital falter.
High inflation, rising debt costs and economic uncertainty prompted the King’s London portfolio value to slip 6.5% to £7.2bn over the course of the year, the Crown Estate said on Thursday.
“This is in line with the wider market as property valuations have been impacted,” the Crown Estate explained, “however, prime office space and the long lease portfolio have both proved resilient”.
Some 242 properties in London’s West End are held by the Crown Estate, including restaurants, shops, offices, as well as the entirety of Regent Street.
Footfall on Regent Street remained 10% below pre-pandemic levels, though it climbed 39% last year, the report said.
Across the entire estate, record revenue profit of £442.6mln was recorded over the year, with much of this transferred to the Treasury which returns a proportion to the royal family.
The entire portfolio value increased by 1.3% to £15.8bn meanwhile, as new offshore wind leases were signed on areas owned by the royals.
“Amid a further year of uncertainty and volatility, we have seen variations in performance across our business,” Crown Estate chief executive Dan Labbad commented.
“However, our record return to the Treasury and our positive relative performance is testament to the resilience and strength of our diverse portfolio," he added.