Sept. 18 (UPI) — The value of the Queen’s land in England was decreased Thursday amid a decline in rental receipts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Crown Estate announced Thursday that the value of the portfolio, which includes London’s Regent Street, St. Jame’s, malls and retail parks throughout the country and the rights to seabeds near the British Isles, decreased 1.2% to about $17.4 billion.
“This is mostly as a result of a revaluation loss of $715 million in the Regional portfolio, reflecting the challenging retail market,” Crown Estate said.
Overall, the group reported a net revenue profit of about $447 million for the fiscal year 2019/2020. a 0.4% increase over the previous year.
Amid the drop in rental income due to the pandemic, the Crown Estate began making staggered payments to the Treasury beginning in July to ensure it has enough revenue reserves.
The Crown Estate has collected 52% of rent due from retail tenants in central London and 53% outside of the city while receiving 88% from offices in central London.
Dan Labbad, the Crown Estate’s chief executive, expressed optimism about the prospect of retail revenue recovering amid efforts to encourage restaurant dining.
“We’ve seen most of our retail and food and beverage come back and want to open where they are still trading,” he said.
Labbad added the group is working with restaurants “on a case by case basis” to determine how to support them as the pandemic continues.
