The Duke of Westminster’s family business Grosvenor, owner of swathes of Mayfair and Belgravia, has reported a sharp rise in profits.
But the boss of the 350 year old privately owned property company of a possible further fall in London commercial property values this year if interest rates continue to stay higher because of inflation.
The business, one of central London’s biggest landlords with a total of around 300 acres, also revealed that it paid a record £52.4 million dividend to its shareholders, UK trusts set up for the benefit of the Grosvenor family.
Underlying profits in 2024 rose 16.5% from £74.1 million to £86.4 million, a performance CEO Mark Preston described as “solid” in a challenging market. The occupancy rate was 97% up from 95%.
The more volatile revenue profit measure, which includes one-offs such as development sales, almost doubled to £82.1 million.
The value of the London portfolio, which includes landmarks such Grosvenor Square and Belgrave Square, rose 3.3% to around £4.5 billion, with offices and retail up 2.6%, retail rising by 4.4% and hotels by 10%.
The London portfolio accounts for around 90% of Grosvenor’s UK property holdings.
Globally Grosvenor’s properties were valued at £8.2 billion, down from £8.6 billion in 2023 and a peak of £9 billion in 2022.
Grosvenor’s main London development South Molton, is the West End’s largest mixed-use scheme. Preston said there were “good early signs” of strong demand from occupiers
Over recent years Grosvenor’s London team have been focussed on “re-animating” Mayfair and Belgravia, two exclusive districts that critics said exemplified a “lights out London” rarely visited by locals.
Earlier this year Grosvenor sold a 25% stake in a £1.2 billion portfolio of Mayfair properties estate to the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund Norges Bank Investment Management .
The portfolio of 175 buildings around Mount Street and Grosvenor Street included the Connaught hotel.
CEO and executive trustee Mark Preston, said: “Against a challenging year for the global economy, marked by mediocre growth and rising geopolitical tensions, our business has delivered a strong set of financial results.
“New joint ventures with Norges in our Mayfair portfolio and with a Canadian pension fund and family office in Vancouver will help us to sow the seeds of future growth.
The injection of fresh capital will enable us to further invest in the long-term success of London’s West End and deliver a significant portion of over 6,100 homes we plan to create in North America.
Grosvenor also announced a leadership shake up with James Raynor appointed to the role of Grosvenor Property CEO, with responsibility for the international property business.
He will retain his current role of CEO of Grosvenor’s UK property business until a successor is in place.
Debbie Lee is also appointed Grosvenor's CFO, succeeding current CFO Rob Davis, from July 2026.
