Our brand development strategy
has been successful

LAING PROPERTY EXCEEDED ITS BUDGET IN RECORDING A PROFIT BEFORE INTEREST OF £9.7 MILLION FOR THE YEAR. THIS WAS DOWN ON THE £13.2 MILLION OPERATING PROFIT FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR WHICH INCLUDED THE ONE OFF £7.3 MILLION ON SECURITISATION OF THE REVENUE STREAM AT ASHFORD INTERNATIONAL PASSENGER STATION.

28% RETURN ON ASSETS MAINTAINS CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE

Laing Property maintained its consistent performance during the 12 months ended 31 December 2001, recording a 28% return on assets and an improved performance against our budget.
Significant contributions came from Crownhill Retail Park in Plymouth, where B&Q now occupy the largest retail warehouse in the South West and Pizza Hut have recently taken a 3,348 sq ft unit, and from the industrial letting of 63,000 sq ft of warehouse space to MacFarlane Group UK in Milton Keynes.
A profit of £2.8 million was also realised on the sale for development of the Group’s headquarters at Mill Hill which have been leased back short-term pending relocation to smaller premises in central London.

NEW BRANDS WELL ESTABLISHED

As announced last year, our strategy is to develop a number of unique trading brands which identify our business focus and expertise. Our objective is to give each of our operations a prominent profile in their respective markets, to raise awareness amongst occupiers, landowners and investors.
By the end of 2001 four brands – Absolute, Trade City, Transcend and XL – were established and are building market awareness.

ABSOLUTE SUCCESS

Absolute is committed to the development of modern, efficient, cost-effective office space in the M3 and M4 corridor.
It currently has six developments in Frimley, Reading and Swindon and a portfolio which has grown threefold in two years – from 325,000 sq ft in December 1999 to 1,000,000 sq ft in December 2001. Absolute is now able to offer occupiers a variety of building sizes and specifications in a number of locations along the
M3 and M4 corridors.

TRADE CITY DEVELOPMENTS

Trade City is focused on providing visible, accessible, flexible, high quality business units for trade, distribution and service based companies with a strong customer interface. We currently have schemes in development at Exeter, Bristol, Didcot and Enfield, each offering modern premises in a heavily landscaped, well managed environment.
As a mark of Trade City’s success, Trade City Exeter won the South West Industrial Agents’ Society’s Development of the Year Award for 2001, beating off strong competition. Orange Personal Communications and Osma Underfloor Heating occupied units there during 2001, joining other trade occupiers and making the scheme over 75% occupied.

XL MAKES ITS MARK

The XL brand, which delivers high bay warehouses with easy access to Britain’s motorway network, achieved its third major letting during 2001, when its 62,322 sq ft warehouse on Standing Way in Milton Keynes was let to the MacFarlane packaging and distribution group.

TRANSCEND TRACKS NEW PROJECTS

Transcend specialises in mixed use development at or near railway stations and brings together train operating companies, Railtrack and local authorities, to work in partnership in bringing forward developments which will regenerate the areas around stations and improve facilities for rail users.
During 2001, Transcend began work on proposals for the redevelopment of High Wycombe and Epsom stations and new developments adjacent to Aylesbury and West Hampstead stations.

DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE POLICIES

As part of the Laing Group, we believe successful sustainable development is achieved by striking the right balance between economic returns, shareholder value and the fulfilment of our environmental and social responsibilities. As participants in the Laing Environmental Steering Group, we are committed to Laing’s systematic approach towards this Group-wide objective. We seek to apply the Steering Group’s principles to our procurement and use of land, materials and resources, to the management of waste, and to the use and management of our own offices and our existing and proposed property developments. We also comply with all the relevant legislation and industry guidance and participate in a number of voluntary agreements associated with sustainable development.
We have made satisfactory progress on all these fronts during the year.

PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE

In addition to expanding our main brands, we have made further progress on the development of QWest, our business, research and development park in Bristol, which includes an Academic Innovation Centre to be operated by Bath and Bristol universities. We also obtained planning permission for a £50 million town centre development at Enfield, in partnership with ING.
Partnership is key to our business, whether it be through our jointly owned companies – in particular Absolute with Bank of Scotland – or with our consultants, contractors and advisers. We value their support.
During the final quarter of the year Laing Property was prepared for sale as part of the Laing Group refinancing. The underlying value of our assets, the potential strength of our brands and the skills and experience of our staff will be highly valued by the purchaser.