Shaftesbury plc

Shaftesbury PLC
Company type	Public
Traded as	LSE: SHB; FTSE 250 component;
Industry	Real estate
Founded	1986
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Key people	Jonathan Nicholls, Chairman; Brian Bickell, CEO; Simon Quayle, Property Director; Tom Welton, Property Director; Chris Ward, Finance Director
Products	London West End restaurants, leisure and retail
Revenue	£123.1 million (2022)
Operating income	£147.8 million (2022)
Net income	£119.1 million (2022)
Website	www.shaftesbury.co.uk

Shaftesbury PLC was a British real estate investment trust which invests exclusively in the heart of London's West End. It was headquartered in London and was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it merged with Capital & Counties Properties to form Shaftesbury Capital in March 2023.

History

Shaftesbury was founded in 1986^[2] as a private company by the Levy family, with an initial injection of £10 million. The family had a long history in UK real estate, having founded the London-based estate agency DE & J Levy, and co-founded the major post-war development company The Stock Conversion and Investment Trust, in the 1940s.^[3]

The company's first property acquisition was a group of 26 buildings in London's Chinatown.^[4]

The company secured a listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in October 1987 when it was valued at £26 million. In its early years, the company had a UK-wide investment strategy but, following the UK real estate recession of 1990 to 1993, it focussed its investment activity solely in London's West End.^[5]

On 2 March 2023, the company announced the implementation of a proposed merger with Capital & Counties Properties.^[6] The merger proposals saw Capital & Counties Properties changing its name to Shaftesbury Capital.^[7]

Operations

Shaftesbury's portfolio extends to nearly 15 acres in London's West End.^[8] It comprises nearly 600 buildings, located close to the West End's major visitor attractions, and mainly clustered in Carnaby Street, Seven Dials and Chinatown, together with substantial ownerships in east and west Covent Garden, Soho and Charlotte Street. In addition, the company has a 50% interest in a further 1.9 acres in Covent Garden, held in its Longmartin joint venture.^[9] In late 2017, the company increased its investment in the Seven Dials, London area.^[10]