213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422024-04-012025-03-31iso4217:GBP213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422023-04-012024-03-31iso4217:GBPxbrli:shares213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422025-03-31213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422024-03-31213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422023-03-31213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422024-03-31ifrs-full:IssuedCapitalMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422024-03-31ifrs-full:SharePremiumMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422024-03-31ifrs-full:CapitalRedemptionReserveMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422024-03-31ifrs-full:RetainedEarningsMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422024-03-31ifrs-full:TreasurySharesMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422024-04-012025-03-31ifrs-full:IssuedCapitalMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422024-04-012025-03-31ifrs-full:SharePremiumMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422024-04-012025-03-31ifrs-full:CapitalRedemptionReserveMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422024-04-012025-03-31ifrs-full:RetainedEarningsMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422024-04-012025-03-31ifrs-full:TreasurySharesMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422025-03-31ifrs-full:IssuedCapitalMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422025-03-31ifrs-full:SharePremiumMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422025-03-31ifrs-full:CapitalRedemptionReserveMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422025-03-31ifrs-full:RetainedEarningsMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422025-03-31ifrs-full:TreasurySharesMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422023-03-31ifrs-full:IssuedCapitalMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422023-03-31ifrs-full:SharePremiumMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422023-03-31ifrs-full:CapitalRedemptionReserveMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422023-03-31ifrs-full:RetainedEarningsMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422023-03-31ifrs-full:TreasurySharesMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422023-04-012024-03-31ifrs-full:IssuedCapitalMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422023-04-012024-03-31ifrs-full:SharePremiumMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422023-04-012024-03-31ifrs-full:CapitalRedemptionReserveMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422023-04-012024-03-31ifrs-full:RetainedEarningsMember213800JMEDD2Q4N1MC422023-04-012024-03-31ifrs-full:TreasurySharesMember
We unlock potential,
creating premium, sustainable
space for London to thrive
Great Portland Estates plc
Annual Report and Accounts 2025
Governance
95 Introduction from the Chair
98 Governance at a glance
100 The Board
102 Division of responsibilities
104 Leadership and purpose
107 Engaging with our employees
109 Board consideration of stakeholder
interests and s.172(1) matters
112 Composition, succession
and evaluation
118 Audit, risks and internal controls
126 Directors’ remuneration report
146 Report of the Directors
150 Directors’ responsibilities statement
Strategic Report – Overview
01 Statement from the Chair
02 Creating premium spaces
in central London
04 Performance highlights
05 How we create value
08 Our near-term strategic priorities
10 Our key performance indicators
12 Focus on growth
Strategic Report – Annual review
21 Statement from the Chief Executive
23 Our markets
25 Our development activities
and capex programme
28 Our leasing and Flex activities
30 Our investment activities
32 Our financial results
36 Our portfolio
39 Sustainability
67 Our people and culture
73 Our stakeholder relationships
77 Engaging with our stakeholders
79 Our approach to risk
Financial statements
152 Group income statement
152 Group statement of
comprehensive income
153 Group balance sheet
154 Group statement of cash flows
155 Group statement of changes
in equity
156 Notes forming part of the
Group financial statements
183 Independent auditor’s report
191 Company balance sheet
192 Company statement of changes
in equity
193 Notes forming part of the
Company financial statements
Other information (unaudited)
198 Five-year record
199 Our properties and customers
201 Portfolio statistics
202 Glossary
204 Shareholders’ information
205 Financial calendar
In this report
Cover image: Ian Cartwright, GPE Senior Project
Manager and Jenny Cheong, GPE PA in the
recently completed SIX St Andrew Street, EC4.
See our website
www.gpe.co.uk
For more information
We believe in the power of people
and partnerships to create premium,
sustainable places in London that deliver
for our customers and drive consistent
growth and performance for our investors.
Our spaces are designed and managed
to create a sustainable legacy for our
great city. One that inspires, enriches and
enhances the lives of our customers and
the communities that surround them.
Statement from the Chair
Creating exceptional premium spaces
in prime central London
Despite recent macro-economic volatility and persistent
geopolitical tensions, we have had another strong year,
maintaining our absolute focus on our true global city
and delivering our purpose: to unlock potential, creating
premium sustainable space for London to thrive.
Supportive market conditions and prime rental growth
has driven a return to valuation uplifts. Our successful
capital raise and subsequent property acquisitions
look to have been well timed.
Executing our growth strategy with conviction
We outperformed our ambitious operational targets
for the year, accretively deploying the proceeds from
last year’s rights issue well ahead of programme with
four acquisitions at the trough of the market, whilst
successfully leasing up our new deliveries at significant
rent beats, including our major office pre-let in St James’s.
Our refurbishment and development programme
remains one of the largest in our industry, timed to
deliver premium quality space into a supply drought.
The impressive performance and growth of our Flex
portfolio further reinforces our ambition to achieve
our one million sq ft target.
Delivering for our customers and
our shareholders, with more to come
With our focus on exceptional customer experience
driving our market leading Net Promoter Score and
retention rates, we also generated a positive Total
Accounting Return of 6% as we have passed both
the valuation and earnings trough.
From here, we anticipate significant increases in
both income and valuations in the years ahead, as our
activities, combined with healthy customer demand,
generate substantial development surpluses and
rent roll growth.
Platform for growth
As I prepare to step down from the Board after more
than eight enjoyable years and hand the reins to William, I
would like to thank all my Board colleagues, the Executive
team and GPE employees for their unwavering dedication
and commitment to this fantastic business.
We have built an outstanding platform for growth
and can look to the future with confidence. We remain
determined to resolve the frustrating disconnect
between the operational performance and prospects
for GPE with its share price.
Our Strategic Report, on pages 01 to 93 has been
reviewed and approved by the Board.
On behalf of the Board
Richard Mully Chair
20 May 2025
We’ve delivered strong results through exceptional leasing,
strategic acquisitions, and market-leading customer focus,
building on our platform for long-term value creation.”
Richard Mully Chair
01
Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Overview
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Leicester
Square
Leicester
Square
Covent
Garden
Covent
Garden
Old
Street
Old
Street
HolbornHolborn
Chancery LaneChancery Lane
Piccadilly
Circus
Piccadilly
Circus
FarringdonFarringdon
Green
Park
Green
Park
Goodge
Street
Goodge
Street
Bond
Street
Bond
Street
Marble
Arch
Marble
Arch
Hyde Park
Corner
Hyde Park
Corner
Oxford
Circus
Oxford
Circus
Regent’s
Park
Regent’s
Park
Great
Portland
Street
Great
Portland
Street
Euston
Square
Euston
Square
EustonEuston
Mornington
Crescent
Mornington
Crescent
King’s Cross
St Pancras
King’s Cross
St Pancras
AngelAngel
Russell
Square
Russell
Square
BlackfriarsBlackfriars
St Paul’sSt Paul’s
BankBank
Mansion
House
Mansion
House
London
Bridge
London
Bridge
BoroughBorough
WaterlooWaterloo
Lambeth
North
Lambeth
North
SouthwarkSouthwark
WestminsterWestminster
BarbicanBarbican
MoorgateMoorgate
TempleTemple
St James’s
Park
St James’s
Park
Charing
Cross
Charing
Cross
EmbankmentEmbankment
Baker
Street
Baker
Street
Warren
Street
Warren
Street
Tottenham
Court Road
BermondseyBermondsey
Tower
Hill
Tower
Hill
Fenchurch
Street
Fenchurch
Street
Liverpool
Street
Liverpool
Street
AldgateAldgate
Aldgate EastAldgate East
WhitechapelWhitechapel
Bethnal
Green
Bethnal
Green
Shoreditch
High Street
Shoreditch
High Street
MonumentMonument
HYDE PARKHYDE PARK
GROSVENOR
SQUARE GARDEN
GROSVENOR
SQUARE GARDEN
CAVENDISH
SQ
CAVENDISH
SQ
PORTMAN
SQUARE
PORTMAN
SQUARE
HANOVER
SQUARE
HANOVER
SQUARE
RUSSELL
SQUARE
RUSSELL
SQUARE
BEDFORD
SQUARE
GARDEN
BEDFORD
SQUARE
GARDEN
LINCOLN’S
INN FIELDS
LINCOLN’S
INN FIELDS
INNER TEMPLE
GARDENS
INNER TEMPLE
GARDENS
JUBILEE
GARDENS
JUBILEE
GARDENS
BERKELEY
SQUARE
BERKELEY
SQUARE
REGENT’S PARKREGENT’S PARK
GREEN PARKGREEN PARK
ST JAMES’S
PARK
ST JAMES’S
PARK
ST JAMES’S
SQUARE
ST JAMES’S
SQUARE
SOHO
SQ
SOHO
SQ
BELGRAVE
SQUARE
GARDEN
BELGRAVE
SQUARE
GARDEN
ARCHBISHOP
PARK
ARCHBISHOP
PARK
WAPPING
GARDENS
WAPPING
GARDENS
WEAVERS
FIELDS
WEAVERS
FIELDS
MAYFAIR
COVENT
GARDEN
SOUTHBANK
SOUTHWARK
HOLBORN
BLOOMSBURY
FITZROVIA
CAMDEN
ISLINGTON
CLERKENWELL
SHOREDITCH
WHITECHAPEL
WAPPING
BETHNAL
GREEN
BARBICAN
CITY OF
LONDON
MARYLEBONE
BELGRAVIA
WESTMINSTER
One Chapel Place
See more on pages
30 and 31
Creating premium spaces
in central London
Portfolio valuation
1
£2.9bn
2024: £2.3bn
Rent roll
1
£123.2m
2024: £107.5m
Property sq ft
2
2.9m sq ft
2024: 2.7m sq ft
Our portfolio
1
1. Including share of joint ventures.
2. Includes joint ventures.
5%
4%
3%
60%
18%
Ready to fit
Retail
Fully Managed
10%
Flex Partnerships
Fitted
Other
5%
4%
3%
60%
18%
Ready to fit
Retail
Fully Managed
10%
Flex Partnerships
Fitted
Other
Mount
Royal
183/190
Tottenham
Court Road
95/96
New Bond
Street
Hanover Square
Elm Yard
Walmar
House
200 & 214
Gray’s Inn Road
103/113
Regent Street
1 Newman Street &
70/88 Oxford Street
7/15 Gresse Street
35 Portman
Square
Pollen
House
Kingsland
House
16 Dufour’s
Place
Elsley
House
Kent
House
Orchard
Court
Carrington
House
141 Wardour
Street
Wells & More
Whittington House
19/2 3
Wells
Street
23/24
Newman
Street
Piccadilly
buildings
Soho Square
Estate
The Courtyard
See more on pages 18 and 19
31/34 Alfred Place
See more on pages 16 and 17
30 Duke Street
See more on pages 13 to 15
02 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
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Leicester
Square
Leicester
Square
Covent
Garden
Covent
Garden
Old
Street
Old
Street
HolbornHolborn
Chancery LaneChancery Lane
Piccadilly
Circus
Piccadilly
Circus
FarringdonFarringdon
Green
Park
Green
Park
Goodge
Street
Goodge
Street
Bond
Street
Bond
Street
Marble
Arch
Marble
Arch
Hyde Park
Corner
Hyde Park
Corner
Oxford
Circus
Oxford
Circus
Regent’s
Park
Regent’s
Park
Great
Portland
Street
Great
Portland
Street
Euston
Square
Euston
Square
EustonEuston
Mornington
Crescent
Mornington
Crescent
King’s Cross
St Pancras
King’s Cross
St Pancras
AngelAngel
Russell
Square
Russell
Square
BlackfriarsBlackfriars
St Paul’sSt Paul’s
BankBank
Mansion
House
Mansion
House
London
Bridge
London
Bridge
BoroughBorough
WaterlooWaterloo
Lambeth
North
Lambeth
North
SouthwarkSouthwark
WestminsterWestminster
BarbicanBarbican
MoorgateMoorgate
TempleTemple
St James’s
Park
St James’s
Park
Charing
Cross
Charing
Cross
EmbankmentEmbankment
Baker
Street
Baker
Street
Warren
Street
Warren
Street
Tottenham
Court Road
BermondseyBermondsey
Tower
Hill
Tower
Hill
Fenchurch
Street
Fenchurch
Street
Liverpool
Street
Liverpool
Street
AldgateAldgate
Aldgate EastAldgate East
WhitechapelWhitechapel
Bethnal
Green
Bethnal
Green
Shoreditch
High Street
Shoreditch
High Street
MonumentMonument
HYDE PARKHYDE PARK
GROSVENOR
SQUARE GARDEN
GROSVENOR
SQUARE GARDEN
CAVENDISH
SQ
CAVENDISH
SQ
PORTMAN
SQUARE
PORTMAN
SQUARE
HANOVER
SQUARE
HANOVER
SQUARE
RUSSELL
SQUARE
RUSSELL
SQUARE
BEDFORD
SQUARE
GARDEN
BEDFORD
SQUARE
GARDEN
LINCOLN’S
INN FIELDS
LINCOLN’S
INN FIELDS
INNER TEMPLE
GARDENS
INNER TEMPLE
GARDENS
JUBILEE
GARDENS
JUBILEE
GARDENS
BERKELEY
SQUARE
BERKELEY
SQUARE
REGENT’S PARKREGENT’S PARK
GREEN PARKGREEN PARK
ST JAMES’S
PARK
ST JAMES’S
PARK
ST JAMES’S
SQUARE
ST JAMES’S
SQUARE
SOHO
SQ
SOHO
SQ
BELGRAVE
SQUARE
GARDEN
BELGRAVE
SQUARE
GARDEN
ARCHBISHOP
PARK
ARCHBISHOP
PARK
WAPPING
GARDENS
WAPPING
GARDENS
WEAVERS
FIELDS
WEAVERS
FIELDS
MAYFAIR
COVENT
GARDEN
SOUTHBANK
SOUTHWARK
HOLBORN
BLOOMSBURY
FITZROVIA
CAMDEN
ISLINGTON
CLERKENWELL
SHOREDITCH
WHITECHAPEL
WAPPING
BETHNAL
GREEN
BARBICAN
CITY OF
LONDON
MARYLEBONE
BELGRAVIA
WESTMINSTER
Business mix
Locations
North of Oxford Street
Rest of West End
Office
Retail
Residential
£1,113.0m
£954.1m
£440.4m
£195.7m
£166.1m
£2,370.9m
£491.6m
£6.8m
39%
33%
6%
7%
15%
83%
17%
City
Southwark
Midtown
0%
Value
Value
Locations
Business mix
Locations
North of Oxford Street
Rest of West End
Office
Retail
Residential
£1,113.0m
£954.1m
£440.4m
£195.7m
£166.1m
£2,370.9m
£491.6m
£6.8m
39%
33%
6%
7%
15%
83%
17%
City
Southwark
Midtown
0%
Value
Value
Business mix
Business mix
Locations
North of Oxford Street
Rest of West End
Office
Retail
Residential
£1,113.0m
£954.1m
£440.4m
£195.7m
£166.1m
£2,370.9m
£491.6m
£6.8m
39%
33%
6%
7%
15%
83%
17%
City
Southwark
Midtown
0%
Value
Value
Star location North of Oxford Street Rest of West End City Southwark Midtown Buildings providing Flex space
2 Cathedral
Street
City
Tower
Woolyard
St Thomas
Yard
The Hickman &
Challenger House
Bramah
House
2 Aldermanbury
Square
SIX
St Andrew
Street
Minerva House
See more on page 13
03Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Overview
Portfolio valuation
1
£2.87bn
2024: £2.33bn
IFRS NAV & EPRA NTA
per share
494p
2024: 473p pro forma
Profit after tax
£116.0
2024: loss £307.8m
EPRA Loan to Value
1
30.8%
2024: 32.6%
IFRS net assets
£2.0bn
2024: £1.6bn
Total Accounting
Return (TAR)
2
+6.0%
2024: -15.9%
Total Shareholder
Return (TSR)
-4.6%
2024: -21.3%
Dividend
£31.8m
2024: £31.9m
Performance highlights
Our performance this year was driven by high levels of activity across the business,
including the successful delivery of our premium HQ offices and Flex spaces into supportive
leasing markets. A favourable investment market backdrop, coupled with the proceeds
from our summer 2024 rights issue, enabled us to acquire buildings at prices significantly
below replacement cost.
Financial highlights
Rights issue proceeds
allocated (incl. capex)
£325m
97% of proceeds
New leasing deals
premium to ERV
3
+10.6%
2024: +9.1%
Portfolio targeted
or rated EPC A or B
81.3%
compared to 63.6% in 2024 due
to our development pipeline
and upgrade programme
Energy intensity
reduction
35%
when compared to
our 2016 baseline
Flex space
582,000
sq ft
2024: 503,000 sq ft
Portfolio customer
satisfaction
(NPS Score)
+26.1
2024: +30.2 (offices)
Disability Confident
Level 3
Highest level of the UK
Government scheme,
championing equity,
equality and diversity
Social value created
during the year
£603k
GPE created social value
(not including service
partner contributions)
Employee engagement
and inclusion index (EEII)
80.3%
2024: 74%
Vacancy rate
1
5.9%
2024: 1.3%
Operational highlights
See more on pages 32 to 35
See more on pages 25 to 38 and 67 to 76
See more on pages 39 to 66
Sustainability highlights
1. Includes share of joint ventures.
2. On a pro forma basis.
3. ERV at 31 March 2024.
04 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
£m
250
(0)
(250)
(500)
(750)
Index
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
2010 2011 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2012
Key
166 138 336
110 306 200
Central London
Real capital values (RHS)
Acquisitions less Sales
– Acquisitions £1.7bn
– Disposals £3.2bn
Equity raised (£640m) Equity returned (£616m)
How we create value
Our purpose
We unlock potential, creating premium,
sustainable space for London to thrive.
A clear strategy for growth
Our strategy is underpinned by the following principles:
100% central London: West End focus
Creating premium spaces: Development & refurbishment
Match risk to cycle: Growth; market supportive
Low financial leverage: 10%-35% through the cycle
Customer First: Premium offer: High NPS
Sustainability: An economic imperative
Disciplined capital management: Contra cyclical
In the near term, our priorities include creating premium
sustainable spaces for our customers, whether through
expanding our flexible offerings or delivering on our
ambitious development programme, as well as enhancing
our portfolio through acquisitions and sales.
See more on our near-term strategic priorities on pages 08 and 09
See more on HQ repositioning on pages 26 and 27
See more on our leasing and Flex activities on pages 28 and 29
Flex
Partnerships
Delivered by
desk or room
Two complementary,
premium products
Four core office solutions
Fitted space where
GPE handles all
day-to-day running
of the workplace
Fully furnished,
well-designed
workspaces
For businesses
that want to fit
out the space
themselves
Customer First
We create premium spaces designed to meet,
and exceed, our customers’ high expectations:
Flex
Smaller fitted
spaces, often with
higher service
levels
HQ
Delivering large,
best-in-class
HQ buildings
Fully
Managed
Fitted
Ready to Fit
Disciplined capital management – contra cyclical track record
Raise and acquire when cheap…sell and distribute when too expensive
05Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Overview
How we create value continued
What we do
We apply our specialist skills to create premium spaces in central London.
What sets us apart
In order to unlock potential, we apply our specialist skills to reposition properties to produce premium,
sustainable spaces that our customers demand. Our disciplined approach to allocating capital shapes
our activities, ensuring we operate in tune with London’s cyclical property markets to maximise returns.
– Disciplined capital allocation approach; must be
accretive to existing portfolio, with an attractive
margin over our cost of capital.
– Tired, inefficient properties, often with poor
EPC ratings, with angles to exploit.
– Attractive central London locations supported
by infrastructure improvements/local investment.
– Discount to replacement cost and typically off-market.
– Off low rents and low capital values per sq ft.
– Optionality: flexible business plans.
– Opportunity to enhance sustainability credentials
and grow our Flex portfolio.
– Ability to deliver profit on cost of development schemes
of 12.5%–20.0% and an ungeared IRR of 10.0%–15.0%.
Acquire
During the year, our acquisitions
included 19/23 Wells Street and
The Courtyard, which will add to
our Fully Managed office offer, and
One Chapel Place and Whittington
House, which have been added to
our near-term development pipeline.
See more on our investment activities
and Flex acquisition criteria on page 30
– Deliver a ‘Customer First’ approach, providing efficient,
resilient, healthy and innovative spaces to meet the
demands of modern customers.
– Provide a greater choice of premium spaces to appeal
to a variety of customer needs, whether on a Ready
to Fit, Fitted or Fully Managed basis.
– Constantly evolving to lead emerging trends,
including the use of technology to enhance the
customer experience.
– Detailed business plan for every property reviewed
quarterly to maximise total returns over our cost of capital.
– Strong sustainability credentials to maximise
customer appeal, enhance the long-term property
value and reduce obsolescence.
Operate & manage
Our customers are demanding the
very best spaces for their people,
together with greater levels of
service and amenity. Therefore,
the spaces we deliver and the
services we provide are evolving
to meet these growing demands.
See more about our customers
on pages 73 and 74
– Disciplined capital recycling through the sale
of properties where we have executed our business
plans, projected returns are insufficient or where
we are able to monetise our expected future profits.
– Create a legacy of high quality, sustainable buildings
to benefit London and the communities in which
they are located.
– Reinvest proceeds into higher return opportunities.
– Return excess equity capital to shareholders when
reinvestment opportunities are limited.
Recycle
During the year, we made one
small sale at 95/96 New Bond Street,
W1 for £18.2 million as part of a swap
transaction to acquire The Courtyard,
WC1. Looking forward, we anticipate
further sales in the near term as
investment markets improve.
See more on our investment activities
on page 30 and 31
– Through lease restructuring, the delivery of
flexible space, refurbishment or redevelopment.
– Deliver premium, sustainable spaces into supportive
markets that meet and exceed customer needs.
– Manage risk through pre-letting, joint ventures
and forward sales.
– Deliver climate-resilient buildings that integrate
market-leading sustainability standards, flexibility,
amenity, wellbeing and technological innovation.
– Enhance the local environment and public realm.
– Deliver a lasting positive social impact
in our communities.
Reposition
Repositioning buildings is key to
adding value. We currently have
three HQ development schemes
on site including 30 Duke Street,
SW1 which will add 70,900 sq ft
of best-in-class, office and retail
space near St James’s and Piccadilly.
See more on our development activities
and capex programme on pages 25 to 27
06 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
What we rely on
We build, nurture and manage our key resources
and relationships…
How we do it
Guided by our values and
approach to sustainability…
The value we create
Creating value for all
our stakeholders.
Our stakeholder relationships
– Intense, supportive, customer-focused approach to understand
customers’ needs. Utilising regular customer feedback to
create bespoke action plans.
– Strong levels of customer satisfaction.
– Open relationships with debt and equity providers based
on a clear investment case and transparent disclosure.
– Deep relationships with key suppliers (including contractors)
and joint venture partners.
– Positive engagement with local communities, local authorities
and planning departments.
See more on our stakeholder relationships on pages 73 to 78
Our people and culture
– Experienced management team supported by specialist in-house
Portfolio Management, Customer Experience, Development,
Investment, Leasing, Flex and Finance teams and support functions.
– Entrepreneurial, collegiate and inclusive culture based on
strong values with disciplined approach to risk management.
– Reward linked to purpose, strategy and values with close
alignment with stakeholders to deliver value and outperformance.
– Effective governance structure.
– Positive employee engagement.
See more on our culture and people on pages 67 to 72
Our portfolio and sustainability
– 100% central London, premium spaces in attractive locations well
served by local infrastructure with enduring customer demand.
–Located in markets with high barriers to entry playing to our strengths.
– Continual repositioning of buildings to enhance the customer
experience, improve sustainability performance, futureproof
value and enhance the environment in which they are located.
– Measures to improve the climate resilience of our buildings
integrated within the design of our spaces.
– Positioned for future growth; around 40% of portfolio in
production with eleven HQ development and Flex conversion
schemes either on-site or in near-term programme.
See more on our portfolio and sustainability on pages 36 to 66
Our capital strength
–Consistently strong balance sheet and conservative financial leverage.
– Low-cost, diversified debt facilities and plentiful liquidity.
– Evolving debt book to align with our values via ESG-linked financing.
– Sustainable Finance Framework in place.
– Disciplined allocation of capital through analytical,
risk-adjusted, IRR-based decision making.
– Support low and progressive dividend policy.
– Tax-efficient REIT structure.
See more on our capital strength on page 33
Our values
Our values define who we are
and how we act, and are at
the heart of what we do:
Customers
+26.1
Portfolio NPS, ahead of
industry average of +13.6
Score driven by design and
quality of spaces, strong
relationships with GPE and
effective communication
Communities
£603k
GPE created social value
Launched updated
Social Impact Strategy
Joint venture partners
25.4%
Net assets in joint venture
Significant refurbishment
of 200 Gray’s Inn Road,
WC1 underway
Employees
85%
Recommend GPE as
a ‘great place to work’.
Launched updated
three-year People
Strategy and D&I Plan
Investor meetings
202
Meetings with investors
Greater engagement
and new materials for
generalist investors
Environment
81.3%
Portfolio targeted
or rated EPC A or B
Implemented a
Circularity Score
and targets
Investors
494p
EPRA NTA
Up 4.4% in the year
on a pro forma basis
Integrating climate
resilience across
our business
See page 42
Decarbonising our
business to become
net zero by 2040
See page 44
Putting health
and wellbeing
front and centre
See page 50
Creating a lasting
positive social impact
in our communities
See page 52
Our commitment
to sustainability
Creating sustainable spaces
sits at the heart of our purpose.
We are:
07Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Overview
Our near-term strategic priorities
We have a clear strategic focus that enables us to deliver attractive long-term value to our stakeholders.
In the near term, given our significant development and refurbishment pipeline, our priorities have
evolved to explicitly include leasing the development and refurbishment projects as they are delivered
together with continuing to lead the sector on both sustainability and customer experience,
whilst crystallising profits through sales.
Priorities for 2024/25 Priorities for 2024/25
1
Progress
sustainability and
innovation agenda
2
Enhance portfolio
through acquisitions
and sales
3
Deliver on
our Flex ambition
4
Embed our
Customer First
approach
5
Deliver and lease
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
See more on pages 39 to 66 See more on pages 30 and 31 See more on pages 28 and 29 See more on pages 73 and 74 See more on pages 25 to 27 See more on pages 25 to 27
Key initiatives
– Develop multi-year, business-wide
digital transformation plan.
– Launch and embed our Roadmap
to Net Zero 2.0.
– Deliver Transition Plan in line with
sector guidance published in Q1 2024,
including double materiality review.
– Utilise steel recovered from
2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2 in French
Railways House & 50 Jermyn Street,
SW1 (now 30 Duke Street).
– Deploy proceeds from rights issue.
– Acquire Flex opportunities to help deliver
one million sq ft growth ambition.
– Supplement development pipeline
through acquisition.
– Maintain discipline of capital recycling
through the sale of properties where
we have executed our business
plans and prospective returns are
insufficient. Recycle proceeds into
development programme and
new acquisition opportunities.
– Complete refurbishments of
31/34 Alfred Place, WC1, Kent House,
W1 and SIX St Andrew Street, EC4.
– Maintain sector-leading NPS score
for Fitted and Fully Managed spaces.
– Acquire Flex opportunities to help
deliver growth ambition.
– Achieve £15.0 million of annualised
Fully Managed Net Operating
Income (NOI) by 31 March 2025.
Key initiatives
– Roll-out GPE service proposition
and standards to service partners,
agents and contractors.
– Retail customer journey mapping.
– Embed Customer Relationship
Engagement Strategy and team
with the ambition to drive increased
renewals and retention.
– Further develop customer
insights function.
– Seek pre-letting opportunities
at Minerva House, SE1 and
30 Duke Street, SW1.
– Remain on track for delivery
of 2 Aldermanbury Square,
30 Duke Street and Minerva House.
– Complete refurbishment of
SIX St Andrew Street, 141 Wardour
Street and 31/34 Alfred Place
and commence leasing.
– Prepare Soho Square Estate,
W1 for redevelopment.
– Reconfigure plans for the
redevelopment of New City Court,
SE1 and submit revised planning
application to Southwark Council.
– Progress refurbishment plans
for The Courtyard, WC1 following
exchange of contracts in April 2024.
Progress in year
– Digital, Technology & Innovation
Strategy launched April 2024.
– Roadmap to Net Zero 2.0 launched
May 2024.
– Double materiality review completed,
Climate Transition Plan progressing
ahead of unresolved legislation.
– Steel being deployed into 30 Duke
Street, SW1 following refurbishment
and recertification.
– £325 million of rights issue proceeds
allocated in four acquisitions
including capex (two Flex, two
HQ) and commitment to refurbish
The Courtyard, WC1 and 19/23
Wells Street, W1.
– Whittington House, WC1 and
One Chapel Place, W1, added
to HQ pipeline.
– Muted investment markets limited
sales to 95/96 New Bond Street, W1,
sold for £18.2 million.
– Committed Flex space now
582,000 sq ft, up 16% in year.
– 31/34 Alfred Place, SIX St Andrew
Street and Kent House refurbishments
completed and c.70% let or under
offer in year.
– NPS score for Fully Managed
space +48.3.
– Delivered £16.1 million of annualised
Fully Managed NOI at year end.
Progress in year
– Customer service proposition
rolled out with positive feedback.
– Executed customer meeting strategy,
including the Executive Directors
meeting our top 20 customers.
– Engaged with service partners
on NPS feedback to ensure focus
on key areas.
– Initiated a programme for GPE
employees to spend time with the
Customer Experience team to better
understand customer needs.
– Offices at 30 Duke Street 100%
pre-let, well ahead of underwrite
and good interest in Minerva House.
– Development schemes remain
on track to meet delivery dates
in line with budgeted costs.
– SIX St Andrew Street and 31/34
Alfred Place refurbishment complete.
– Completion of 141 Wardour Street
marginally delayed until summer 2025.
– Planning permission granted at
Soho Square Estate and vacant
possession achieved, anticipated
start on site H2 2025.
– Revised planning submitted at
New City Court and rebranded
St Thomas Yard, SE1.
– Planning permission achieved at
The Courtyard, works commencing
summer 2025 following commitment
to refurbish.
Priorities for 2025/26
Maintain
sustainability and
customer leadership
Unchanged Unchanged
Priorities for 2025/26
Lease the
HQ and Flex
deliveries
Deliver the
committed
schemes
Unchanged
Key initiatives
– Finalise circularity measurement
methodology.
– Implement new Social Impact Strategy.
– Maintain NPS score well ahead
of industry average.
– Consolidate our Digital Customer
Experience into a unified app.
– Implement new finance and
property management system
for 1 April 2026.
– Transition from net buyer to net seller.
– Sales of properties where business
plans are complete (including
long-dated assets).
– Remain opportunistic on acquisitions;
including opportunities to help deliver
one million sq ft Flex growth ambition.
– Maintain sector-leading NPS score
for Fitted and Fully Managed spaces.
– Achieve £8.5 million of Fully Managed
NOI in financial year to 31 March 2026.
– Further Increase Flex footprint
on journey to one million sq ft.
– Maintain Fully Managed customer
retention rate > 70%.
Key initiatives
– Lease majority of 141 Wardour Street,
W1 and 170 Piccadilly, SW1.
– Lease remaining space at Wells
& More, W1, 31/34 Alfred Place
and SIX St Andrew Street.
– Pre-lease space at 30 Duke Street,
SW1 and Minerva House, SE1.
– Enter negotiations for pre-letting
space being refurbished at
200 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1.
– Complete refurbishments of
170 Piccadilly, SW1 and 141 Wardour
Street, W1.
– Maintain programme and budget
at Minerva House and 30 Duke Street.
– Complete 2 Aldermanbury Square
to budget in Q1 2026.
– Progress partial refurbishment
of 200 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1.
– Secure planning permission at
St Thomas Yard, SE1 and Whittington
House, WC1.
– Regear headlease at Gresse Street,
W1 and resolve neighbourly matters
at Soho Square Estate.
– Commit to redevelopment of
Whittington House, Gresse Street
and the Soho Square Estate.
– Set planning strategy for
One Chapel Place, W1.
08 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Priorities for 2024/25 Priorities for 2024/25
1
Progress
sustainability and
innovation agenda
2
Enhance portfolio
through acquisitions
and sales
3
Deliver on
our Flex ambition
4
Embed our
Customer First
approach
5
Deliver and lease
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
See more on pages 39 to 66 See more on pages 30 and 31 See more on pages 28 and 29 See more on pages 73 and 74 See more on pages 25 to 27 See more on pages 25 to 27
Key initiatives
– Develop multi-year, business-wide
digital transformation plan.
– Launch and embed our Roadmap
to Net Zero 2.0.
– Deliver Transition Plan in line with
sector guidance published in Q1 2024,
including double materiality review.
– Utilise steel recovered from
2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2 in French
Railways House & 50 Jermyn Street,
SW1 (now 30 Duke Street).
– Deploy proceeds from rights issue.
– Acquire Flex opportunities to help deliver
one million sq ft growth ambition.
– Supplement development pipeline
through acquisition.
– Maintain discipline of capital recycling
through the sale of properties where
we have executed our business
plans and prospective returns are
insufficient. Recycle proceeds into
development programme and
new acquisition opportunities.
– Complete refurbishments of
31/34 Alfred Place, WC1, Kent House,
W1 and SIX St Andrew Street, EC4.
– Maintain sector-leading NPS score
for Fitted and Fully Managed spaces.
– Acquire Flex opportunities to help
deliver growth ambition.
– Achieve £15.0 million of annualised
Fully Managed Net Operating
Income (NOI) by 31 March 2025.
Key initiatives
– Roll-out GPE service proposition
and standards to service partners,
agents and contractors.
– Retail customer journey mapping.
– Embed Customer Relationship
Engagement Strategy and team
with the ambition to drive increased
renewals and retention.
– Further develop customer
insights function.
– Seek pre-letting opportunities
at Minerva House, SE1 and
30 Duke Street, SW1.
– Remain on track for delivery
of 2 Aldermanbury Square,
30 Duke Street and Minerva House.
– Complete refurbishment of
SIX St Andrew Street, 141 Wardour
Street and 31/34 Alfred Place
and commence leasing.
– Prepare Soho Square Estate,
W1 for redevelopment.
– Reconfigure plans for the
redevelopment of New City Court,
SE1 and submit revised planning
application to Southwark Council.
– Progress refurbishment plans
for The Courtyard, WC1 following
exchange of contracts in April 2024.
Progress in year
– Digital, Technology & Innovation
Strategy launched April 2024.
– Roadmap to Net Zero 2.0 launched
May 2024.
– Double materiality review completed,
Climate Transition Plan progressing
ahead of unresolved legislation.
– Steel being deployed into 30 Duke
Street, SW1 following refurbishment
and recertification.
– £325 million of rights issue proceeds
allocated in four acquisitions
including capex (two Flex, two
HQ) and commitment to refurbish
The Courtyard, WC1 and 19/23
Wells Street, W1.
– Whittington House, WC1 and
One Chapel Place, W1, added
to HQ pipeline.
– Muted investment markets limited
sales to 95/96 New Bond Street, W1,
sold for £18.2 million.
– Committed Flex space now
582,000 sq ft, up 16% in year.
– 31/34 Alfred Place, SIX St Andrew
Street and Kent House refurbishments
completed and c.70% let or under
offer in year.
– NPS score for Fully Managed
space +48.3.
– Delivered £16.1 million of annualised
Fully Managed NOI at year end.
Progress in year
– Customer service proposition
rolled out with positive feedback.
– Executed customer meeting strategy,
including the Executive Directors
meeting our top 20 customers.
– Engaged with service partners
on NPS feedback to ensure focus
on key areas.
– Initiated a programme for GPE
employees to spend time with the
Customer Experience team to better
understand customer needs.
– Offices at 30 Duke Street 100%
pre-let, well ahead of underwrite
and good interest in Minerva House.
– Development schemes remain
on track to meet delivery dates
in line with budgeted costs.
– SIX St Andrew Street and 31/34
Alfred Place refurbishment complete.
– Completion of 141 Wardour Street
marginally delayed until summer 2025.
– Planning permission granted at
Soho Square Estate and vacant
possession achieved, anticipated
start on site H2 2025.
– Revised planning submitted at
New City Court and rebranded
St Thomas Yard, SE1.
– Planning permission achieved at
The Courtyard, works commencing
summer 2025 following commitment
to refurbish.
Priorities for 2025/26
Maintain
sustainability and
customer leadership
Unchanged Unchanged
Priorities for 2025/26
Lease the
HQ and Flex
deliveries
Deliver the
committed
schemes
Unchanged
Key initiatives
– Finalise circularity measurement
methodology.
– Implement new Social Impact Strategy.
– Maintain NPS score well ahead
of industry average.
– Consolidate our Digital Customer
Experience into a unified app.
– Implement new finance and
property management system
for 1 April 2026.
– Transition from net buyer to net seller.
– Sales of properties where business
plans are complete (including
long-dated assets).
– Remain opportunistic on acquisitions;
including opportunities to help deliver
one million sq ft Flex growth ambition.
– Maintain sector-leading NPS score
for Fitted and Fully Managed spaces.
– Achieve £8.5 million of Fully Managed
NOI in financial year to 31 March 2026.
– Further Increase Flex footprint
on journey to one million sq ft.
– Maintain Fully Managed customer
retention rate > 70%.
Key initiatives
– Lease majority of 141 Wardour Street,
W1 and 170 Piccadilly, SW1.
– Lease remaining space at Wells
& More, W1, 31/34 Alfred Place
and SIX St Andrew Street.
– Pre-lease space at 30 Duke Street,
SW1 and Minerva House, SE1.
– Enter negotiations for pre-letting
space being refurbished at
200 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1.
– Complete refurbishments of
170 Piccadilly, SW1 and 141 Wardour
Street, W1.
– Maintain programme and budget
at Minerva House and 30 Duke Street.
– Complete 2 Aldermanbury Square
to budget in Q1 2026.
– Progress partial refurbishment
of 200 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1.
– Secure planning permission at
St Thomas Yard, SE1 and Whittington
House, WC1.
– Regear headlease at Gresse Street,
W1 and resolve neighbourly matters
at Soho Square Estate.
– Commit to redevelopment of
Whittington House, Gresse Street
and the Soho Square Estate.
– Set planning strategy for
One Chapel Place, W1.
09Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Overview
Rationale
TAR is measured as absolute EPRA NTA per share growth
(the industry standard measure of a real estate company’s
success at creating value) plus any ordinary dividends paid,
expressed as a percentage of the period’s opening EPRA NTA.
Commentary
2
TAR was 6.0% for the year. The TAR performance was primarily
driven by the uplift in the property valuation which was the
result of rental growth and our leasing activities.
Our key performance indicators
Our key performance indicators (KPIs) measure the principal metrics that we focus on to run
the business, and they, along with the key measures that drive them, help determine how we
are remunerated. Over the longer term, we aim to outperform our benchmarks through
successfully executing our strategy.
See more on pages 32 to 35 and note 9
to the Group financial statements
Rationale
TSR is a standard measure of shareholder value creation over
time. It measures the movement in a company’s share price
plus dividends expressed as an annual percentage movement.
Commentary
TSR of the Group has been benchmarked against the TSR of
the FTSE 350 Real Estate Index (excluding agencies). The TSR
of the Group was minus 4.6%
1
for the year, compared to minus
9.3% for the benchmark given our strong operational performance
and improved investor sentiment for office-based real estate
companies compared to the rest of the sector.
Link to remuneration
Exec BonusLTIP
Performance criteria
for Executive Directors and
certain senior managers
pursuant to 2022 award under
the Company’s Long Term
Incentive Plan (LTIP). The LTIP
has since been replaced by a
Restricted Share Plan (RSP).
Performance criteria for
Executive Directors’ and all
employees’ annual bonuses
save that the employee
engagement and diversity
measures do not apply to
most colleagues to avoid
conflicts of interest.
1.7
6.6
21.1
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
(21.3)
(27.3)
(28.5)
20.8
10.7
-10
-20
30
10
20
-30
0
All LTIP
(4.6)
(9.3)
8.8
(8.8)
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
(15.9)
6.0
(7.8)
0
-5
20
10
15
-10
-15
-20
5
4.0
4.0
3.0
Benchmark (italics)
All LTIP Exec Bonus
2
Total Shareholder Return
% (TSR)
Total Accounting Return
% (TAR)
2. For the 2024/25 Annual Bonus, TAR per share is benchmarked against the
relative performance of the FTSE 350 Real Estate Index (excluding agencies).
While a number of companies are yet to publish their financial results, we
anticipate that our TAR for the year marginally underperformed the Index
due to the comparatively stronger performance of other real estate sectors.
1. On a spot basis.
See more on pages 128 and 143
See Directors’ remuneration report on pages 126 to 145See more on pages 08 and 09
1
Progress sustainability and innovation agenda
2
Enhance portfolio through sales and acquisitions
3
Deliver on our Flex ambition
4
Embed our Customer First approach
5
Deliver and lease the committed schemes
6
Prepare the pipeline
All
All six priorities
Our KPIs are driven by our strategic priorities, which
applied for the 2024/25 financial year, as follows:
10 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Scorecard Measure Link to shareholder returns
Performance 2024/25
minimum threshold
Optimising financial
performance
51 42 3
1. Rent achieved on market
lettings during year vs
ERV (as per CBRE at start
of year) – ‘% beat to
market rent’
Will enhance property
valuations and
maximise income
+10.6%
≥ ERV @ 31 March 2024
2. Vacancy rate at year end
(including completed
development/refurbished
space during year)
Will enhance property
valuations and
maximise income
5.9%
≤ 7.5 %
3. Fully Managed annualised
Net Operating Income
(NOI) at year end
Will enhance property
valuations and
maximise income
£16.1m
≥ £ 12.0 m
4. Successful deployment
of rights issue proceeds
Underpins ability to acquire
and invest in assets to drive
capital and income returns
£242m
≥ £115m
Transforming the
business and putting
customers first
62 53 4
1. Delivery of on-site
developments
vs milestones for
key schemes
Enhances property
valuations
100%
≥ 40%
2. Market-leading customer
NPS (office & retail)
Underpins strategy,
aids customer retention
and enhances property
valuations
+26.1
≥ +2 0 .0
Delivering
our Roadmap
to Net Zero
1 5 6
1. Reduction in energy
consumption (targets
set each year against
Roadmap)
Increases attraction of
GPE space, driving rents
and enhancing property
valuations
153 kWh/m
2
≤ 152 kWh/m
2
2. All new developments
to be net zero or on
track to be net zero
Underpins HQ repositioning
strategy, customer demand,
capital and income returns
100%
≥ 40%
Personal and
business culture
All
1. Maintaining and nurturing
a positive and inclusive
culture (measured through
employee engagement
and inclusion index
survey scores)
Retaining and attracting
key talent critical to
support growth
80.3%
≥65%
2. Achievements against
gender and diversity
targets (as detailed
on page 72)
Ensuring diverse talent to
develop and deliver strategy
Progress against
both targets
Improvement on each
target against position
at 31 March 2024
Additional KPIs for 2024/25
The Group’s scorecard is designed to motivate management to optimise returns for shareholders by focusing on
clear and measurable key performance objectives to deliver our strategic priorities as they evolve. Each of the
measures is designed to directly or indirectly drive our financial KPIs and shareholder value in the longer term and
form an integral part of the Directors’ remuneration policy to align performance and executive remuneration.
Exec Bonus
11Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Overview
Focus
on
gro th
Over the following pages we
demonstrate how we have been
delivering on our growth strategy.
12 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Growing our circularity
Minerva House, SE1
By keeping existing materials in circulation,
we can reduce the environmental impact of our
development activities. This approach has already
been demonstrated through our pioneering reuse
of steel from one of our deconstructed buildings,
City Place House, into the redevelopment of
30 Duke Street, SW1. This initiative, along with our
glass recycling scheme at Minerva House, SE1,
has helped refine our approach to creating ‘circular
buildings’ that rely less on virgin materials. In
doing so, we support the creation of high quality,
low-carbon, climate-resilient buildings and
places that our customers and communities
both deserve and expect.
We believe our approach will encourage a more
valuable and nuanced discussion about what
constitutes truly sustainable development,
moving beyond the current polarised debate
between retrofit and new build.
See more on page 66
To help us meet our ambitious carbon reduction
targets and achieve net zero by 2040 – and
specifically to reduce the embodied carbon of
our developments and refurbishments by more
than 50% by 2030 – we must continue to find
innovative ways to cut emissions.
In November, we launched our market-leading
Circularity Score to drive reductions in the use of
virgin materials in our developments. For schemes
commencing after 1 April 2025, we are targeting a
minimum Circularity Score of 40%, rising to 50% for
those starting after 1 April 2030. Our longer-term
aspiration is to achieve over 60% circularity across
all new schemes by 2040.
In the absence of an industry-agreed measurement
process, we will measure the percentage of reused
materials incorporated into our developments and
major refurbishments. This new metric will challenge
us to innovate further and faster than ever before,
while also stimulating the growth of a more robust
and better-functioning market for reused materials.
Reuse + Recycle
= Results
13Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Overview
Best
n class
Nestled in the heart of historic St James’s,
works are progressing well at our major office-
led redevelopment of 30 Duke Street, SW1.
With deconstruction of the existing building
now complete, construction of the reused
steel frame has started.
The building has been designed to embrace the
fundamental principles of the circular economy, as
well as targeting the highest sustainability credentials.
We are retaining the existing foundations and
basement, and reusing steel from the dismantling
of another GPE development, City Place House,
EC2 (site of 2 Aldermanbury Square), to create
open-plan, column-free floors.
With high specification amenities including a
wellness suite, private terraces on the upper floors
and communal roof terrace with panoramic views,
30 Duke Street will deliver a best-in-class office
space into a prime West End location.
30 Duke Street is expected to complete in Q3 2026
and will provide 70,900 sq ft of new Grade A space
into a market that is starved of premium supply.
As a result, competition for the space has been
strong and we have already pre-let the entirety
of the offices to CD&R, the leading global investment
firm. Given strong rental growth since commitment,
the scheme is expected to deliver a profit on cost
of 35.1% and a 7.1% development yield.
Growing our developments
30 Duke Street, SW1
14 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
15Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Overview
Growing our Flex deliveries
Flex
Ability
SIX St Andrew Street, EC4
16 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
As we continue to drive growth in our flexible
office offering to meet growing customer demand,
we have grown our Flex space to 582,000 sq ft,
or around 25% of our office portfolio.
By organically converting floors across our portfolio
into high quality, amenity-rich Fully Managed space
and through acquisitions such as The Courtyard, W1
and 19/23 Wells Street, W1, we have made significant
progress towards our targeted ambition for one
million sq ft of Flex space.
Of our four Fully Managed refurbishments undertaken
this year, two have completed at SIX St Andrew Street,
EC4 and 31/34 Alfred Place, WC1, with very positive
early leasing activity. Our two refurbishments
on-site at 170 Piccadilly, SW1 and 141 Wardour Street,
W1 are progressing well, with both set to complete
in summer 2025.
At SIX St Andrew Street, which completed in
early November, 23,000 of the 47,800 sq ft space
is now let, at an average 8.9% beat to ERVs.
Since completion of 31/34 Alfred Place in January
2025, 27,600 of the building is already let, at an
average of £220 per sq ft and an average beat
to ERVs of 6.3%. This included our largest ever
Fully Managed letting to FTSE 100 retailer Next,
who took 11,500 sq ft on a five-year term.
The leasing success experienced at SIX and
Alfred Place demonstrates that our premium,
differentiated Fully Managed offering is meeting
and exceeding customer expectations and
delivering outsized returns. As a result, we expect
to further add to the portfolio in the coming years,
providing a significant income and value growth
opportunity into the medium term.
31/34 Alfred Place, WC1
17Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Overview
Growing our portfolio
The Courtyard, WC1 (CGI)
18 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
In May 2024, we launched a fully underwritten
£350 million rights issue to allow us to seize
the significant opportunity we saw emerging
in central London commercial real estate.
The uncertain macro-economic backdrop, combined
with increased interest rates across the globe,
resulted in commercial buildings in London trading
at values we had last seen in 2009 in real terms.
Together with this value correction, the investment
market had become more favourable for buyers
and we had built a significant pipeline of potential
acquisition opportunities, which we believed we
could acquire at or below replacement cost,
with strong prospective returns.
Furthermore, given attractive pricing, in September
2024 we issued our first sterling unsecured sustainable
bond to fund the development of our best-in-class
schemes and form part of our pathway to becoming
net zero by 2040.
Since raising the funds, we have deployed £162 million
(£325 million including capital expenditure) of the
capital we raised in the rights issue into new West
End acquisitions. This has included the acquisition
of The Courtyard, 19/23 Wells Street, Whittington
House, and most recently One Chapel Place.
Furthermore, we have also committed to the
refurbishment of The Courtyard, which is forecast
to complete in spring 2027.
In total, we now have allocated 97% all of the rights
issue proceeds, well ahead of the 12 to 18 month
window we anticipated at the outset, and have added
exciting new projects to both our Fully Managed offer
and our development pipeline that we fully expect
to enhance returns over the coming years.
Timing is
everything
19Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Overview
In this section:
21 Statement from the Chief Executive
23 Our markets
25 Our development activities
and capex programme
28 Our leasing and Flex activities
30 Our investment activities
32 Our financial results
36 Our portfolio
39 Sustainability
67 Our people and culture
73 Our stakeholder relationships
77 Engaging with our stakeholders
79 Our approach to risk
Strategic
Report
Annual review
NEW
ACQUISITION
The Courtyard, WC1
Works will commence
shortly to refurbish the
building into high quality,
Fully Managed Space.
20 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Statement from the Chief Executive
Strong operational performance
Despite recent macro-economic volatility and persistent geo-
political tensions, we have had a strong year. We have delivered
new premium spaces for customers to enjoy, validated by some
excellent leasing results. We have accretively deployed the
proceeds from last year’s rights issue, well ahead of programme
and at the trough of the market whilst delivering valuation
growth for the first time since 2022. With strong occupational
markets and sustained demand for premium spaces, our well-
timed programme delivering best-in-class HQ buildings and
Flex spaces for our customers is positioning GPE for growth.
Delivering our strategy
In June last year, given the opportunities we saw in our
investment markets, we raised £335.6 million (net) in a rights
issue to invest alongside a £250 million sustainable bond issue
in September. These capital raises look to have been well timed.
Since then, we have acquired four properties, all in the West End,
for £162.1 million (or £325 million including anticipated capex).
These acquisitions – two HQ developments and two Fully
Managed schemes – add to the deepening pipeline of premium
space GPE will be creating over the coming years. Whilst our
pipeline of future acquisitions remains healthy, we expect
investment markets to improve, our activity will become more
balanced between acquisitions and sales as we look to
crystallise surpluses where our business plans are complete.
Platform for growth
This time last year we believed that central London’s investment
markets were at or around their trough. We were right. Since
then, our occupational markets have demonstrated continued
strength, with prime rents growing as increasingly scarce
premium spaces remain in high demand. Furthermore, this year
saw a stabilisation in our investment markets, with property
yields broadly flat. When combined with our activities, this has
lifted property values, with our portfolio up 3.6% year on year.
From here, we think the cycle will continue to improve and we are
increasingly optimistic that the significant investment we are
making in our portfolio will be well timed to capitalise on these
supportive market conditions growing returns for shareholders.
Target-beating leasing year – 10.6% ahead of ERV
At the outset of the year, we set ambitious leasing targets
alongside significant planned deliveries of new space. In a very
busy year, our Leasing team signed 74 new leases, delivering
£37.7 million of new rent, with market lettings 10.6% ahead
of the March 2024 ERV. Our leasing was in part driven
by the growth of our Fully Managed spaces, where we
signed 41 new deals, securing £23.4 million in rent at a 10.1%
beat to the March 2024 ERV. Encouragingly, we achieved
average Fully Managed rents of £206 per sq ft, supporting
our ambitions for further growth across our identified
central London Flex clusters and confidence for the next
round of deliveries this summer.
High levels of customer satisfaction
Keeping customers happy, and willing to renew their leases
on expiry at higher rates, was a key objective for the GPE team
this year, minimising vacancy and the associated costs of
seeking new customers. We measure our customer satisfaction
annually, and once again, delivered a leading portfolio Net
Promoter Score of +26.1, significantly ahead of the industry
average of +13.6. Impressively, in our Fully Managed spaces
we scored +48.3 which supported strong levels of customer
retention, with 91% of our Fully Managed customers staying
at break or expiry. We also maintained our exceptionally
high rent collection rates across the portfolio, securing in
excess of 99% of all rents within seven working days.
Rental value growth driving portfolio gains
As customers increasingly seek the highest quality,
sustainable spaces, they are facing competition in a market
that is experiencing an increased shortage of new Grade
A supply. This is driving rental value growth, particularly for
the best space. Across our portfolio, we saw a like-for-like
increase in rental values of 5.0% over the year, with offices up
by 5.3%, and our prime and Fully Managed spaces once again
outperforming with growth of 7.6% and 7.5% respectively.
Whilst the investment market has remained relatively quiet,
turnover is recovering and yields have stabilised. As a result,
bolstered by rental growth, our property values grew by
3.6% on a like-for-like basis. The property valuation growth
increased IFRS NAV and EPRA NTA per share by 4.4%, on a pro
forma basis, over the year. When combined with an ordinary
dividend maintained at £31.8 million, our Total Accounting
Return was 6.0%. Including the revaluation of the portfolio, we
delivered an IFRS profit after tax for the year of £116.0 million.
EPRA earnings were £20.2 million, up 12.8% with diluted EPRA
EPS of 5.2 pence, a decline of 11.9%, driven by the greater
number of shares in issue post the rights issue.
Our conviction in our strategy
is undiminished. Our markets are
supportive, we have delivered
exceptional leasing results as
we create more premium spaces
and we have raised and deployed
significant capital to drive future
growth and shareholder returns.”
Toby Courtauld Chief Executive
21Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Statement from the Chief Executive continued
Favourable outlook for rents
Despite ongoing macro-economic volatility, our confidence
and belief in London remain strong. As one of the world’s
most attractive and diverse mixed-use destinations,
London stands unrivalled as a true global city. Its unique
ability to attract people and businesses from around the
world continues to drive strong demand for commercial
space. However, occupiers are increasingly targeting only
the highest-quality spaces, and the supply of such premium
space in London will substantially lag this demand.
As a result, we anticipate that these market conditions will
continue to drive rents upwards and we expect further rental
growth of 4% to 7% over the next financial year. For prime
office space, our guidance is stronger still at 6% to 10%.
HQ repositioning; delivering the best
Given attractive rental growth prospects over the next
few years, we set out to deliver new, best-in-class buildings
to take advantage of these conditions and we are currently
on-site at three major HQ schemes.
At 30 Duke Street, SW1, our prime office-led scheme on
Piccadilly will provide 70,900 sq ft of new Grade A space
whilst embracing the principles of the circular economy.
Reused steel from the former building at 2 Aldermanbury
Square, EC2 is now being installed. The scheme is on track
for completion in mid-2026 and is expected to deliver a
profit on cost of 35.1%. All of the offices are already pre-let,
well ahead of the valuers’ ERV, providing significant upside
to come.
At Minerva House, SE1, works are progressing well to deliver
a new building that will take full advantage of its impressive
River Thames frontage, creating an enviable South Bank
HQ destination with new public realm and gardens, whilst
delivering outstanding sustainability and reuse credentials.
It is expected to complete in Q3 2026 and deliver a profit
on cost of 19.0%, and we have strong leasing interest in
the space.
We also continue to make significant progress at
2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2, where Clifford Chance LLP
have pre-leased the entirety of office space (322,600 sq ft).
The building is on track for delivery in Q1 2026.
This year, we also took the opportunity to further deepen
our pipeline with the acquisition of Whittington House, WC1
and One Chapel Place, W1. In total, we now have four near-
term schemes in the pipeline, which together with our seven
committed schemes, will deliver 1.1 million sq ft of prime,
predominantly office space with exemplary sustainability
credentials, along with around £120 million of ERV following
our proposed £700 million of capex investment.
Flex spaces; two completions, more to come
This year, we successfully delivered two dedicated Fully
Managed buildings at SIX St Andrew Street, EC4 and
31/34 Alfred Place, W1. Leasing at both buildings has been
very strong and well ahead of underwrite in both for
speed and rents achieved.
Building on this success, we are increasingly confident about
our two on-site refurbishments at 141 Wardour Street, W1,
and 170 Piccadilly, SW1, which are on track for completion
this summer. Together, they will deliver a further 55,500 sq ft
of high-quality Fully Managed space. Beyond these projects,
we have also committed to refurbishing the recently acquired
Courtyard, WC1, and 19/23 Wells Street, W1. With 582,000 sq ft
now committed, the strong performance of our Flex portfolio
reinforces our ambition to achieve our one million sq ft target.
Taken all together, our refurbishment and development
programme is one of the largest in our industry as a proportion
of owned assets, timed to deliver into a supply drought.
Set to deliver long-term income and value growth
Given our ambitious growth strategy, we anticipate substantial
increases in both income and valuations in the years ahead.
Our development and refurbishment programme is expected
to generate surpluses of £217 million based on current rents
and yields, with considerable upside potential driven by
anticipated rental growth. In addition, the delivery of new
space will generate meaningful new rent roll, supporting
organic growth of around 130% from current levels. Altogether,
including our targeted dividend, we are aiming to deliver a
medium-term return on equity of over 10%. All of this will be
delivered from a position of financial strength, keeping LTV
within our target range of 10%–35% through the cycle.
Outlook
We are pleased to report on a productive and successful year
during which we achieved or exceeded most of the challenging
operational targets we set ourselves, in spite of the often
extreme and unpredictable macro-political backdrop; we
successfully raised and then deployed, ahead of schedule,
significant fresh equity capital into exciting new opportunities
at a sizeable average discount of more than 50% to those
assets’ replacement cost; we delivered a record quantity of
investment leasing at a healthy 11% premium to ERV, growing
rent roll by 15% and validating our focus on creating premium
spaces, with our prime office rental values rising by 7.6% and
Fully Managed capital values by 12.8% over the year. Pleasingly,
our commitment to customer service has been rewarded
with an exceptional 87% customer retention rate and an
industry-leading Net Promoter Score.
Looking forward, despite ongoing macro-economic uncertainty,
we believe that many of the conditions necessary for a period
of attractive growth in central London’s commercial property
values are increasingly evident and we are well placed to prosper;
with healthy demand, rents at our well-located, premium
spaces will continue rising and we have upgraded our forecasts
for the year; we have amassed an enviable pipeline of prime
development and refurbishment opportunities covering almost
40% of our portfolio from which we expect to generate material
surpluses, given the extreme shortage of such space; London’s
growing relative attractions are generating early signs of a
reinvigorated investment market which will allow us to crystalise
surpluses through asset sales; and our deeply experienced teams
and strong financial position will enable us to take full advantage
of these supportive conditions and generate attractive
returns for shareholders, with a prospective 10%+ annualised
return on equity and a threefold increase in EPRA EPS over
the medium term.
22 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Our markets
Occupational markets
1
– Occupational market active; central London take-up
11.5 million sq ft in year, up 6.0% on prior year.
– Central London active demand 12.6 million sq ft,
up 2.4% year on year (JLL).
– Availability remains elevated at 23.0 million sq ft,
down 1.4 million sq ft on 31 March 2024 and remains
26.2% ahead of the ten-year average.
– Space under offer 3.4 million sq ft, down from
3.9 million sq ft at 31 March 2024 and broadly in line
with the ten-year average of 3.5 million sq ft.
– Central London vacancy rate 8.1% at 31 March 2025;
down from 8.3% last year; newly completed vacancy
rate at 1.4% (JLL).
– Supply remains tight; 46% of all space under
construction already pre-let.
– Rents for prime spaces +10.8% (West End) are
expected to significantly outperform Grade B rents
+2.3% (Central London) between 31 December 2025
and 2028 (Savills).
The macro-economic backdrop remained volatile throughout the year, with elevated interest rates and
inflation persistently above forecasts. Despite this, property yields remained broadly stable, supported
by strong occupational markets and rising rents. However, geopolitical events introduced uncertainty
and dampened investment activity. Although the UK GDP outlook is marginally positive and inflation is
easing, significant macro-economic risks remain, and volatility is likely to continue until there is greater
clarity on global trade arrangements and interest rates continue on their downward trajectory.
Investment markets
1
– Investment markets quiet given broader
macro-economic uncertainty.
– Office investment deals £4.9 billion in 2024,
down from £5.2 billion in 2023.
– Turnover in Q1 2025 increased to £2.4 billion,
up 48.9% on previous quarter.
– We estimate that £4.4 billion of real estate is currently
on the market to buy versus £21.4 billion of equity
demand looking to invest.
– Prime yields stabilised; CBRE reports prime yields
unchanged at 4.0% and 5.75% for the West End
and City respectively.
– Prime retail yields: 4.25% Regent Street, 4.50% Oxford Street
both stable and Bond Street softened by 25 bps to 2.75%.
The West End
– Office take-up 3.7 million sq ft,
up 10.9% on preceding year.
– Availability 6.7 million sq ft,
up 9.2%.
– Vacancy 5.1%, up from 4.4%
at 31 March 2024; vacancy
of newly completed space
only 1.6% (JLL).
– Prime office rental values
£170 per sq ft at 31 March 2024,
up 9.7% in year.
– Retail vacancy compressed;
central London prime retail zone
A rents grew by c.7% in year.
The City
– Office take-up 5.9 million sq ft,
up 3.3% on preceding year.
– Availability 8.6 million sq ft,
down 14.8% in year.
– Vacancy 9.9%, down from
11.5% at 31 March 2024;
vacancy of newly completed
space only 1.1% (JLL).
– Prime office rental values
£84 per sq ft, up 9.1% in year.
– City space under offer
1.5 million sq ft, down
from 2.1 million sq ft at
31 March 2024.
Near-term outlook
We actively monitor numerous lead indicators to help
identify key trends in our marketplace. Over the last year,
our property capital value indicators have improved,
along with a more optimistic outlook for interest rates.
However, risks remain, including the continued macro-
economic uncertainty and ongoing geopolitical tensions.
Today we expect the flight to quality to continue, with
investment demand to support prime yields in the near
term, with potential compression on smaller lot size
properties as rents grow and interest rates settle. In the
occupational market, given a strong leasing and rental
performance of the portfolio, our rental value growth
range for the financial year to 31 March 2026 is positive
at between 4.0% and 7.0%, predominantly driven by the
positive expected performance of our office portfolio.
1. To 31 March 2025 and sourced from CBRE unless otherwise stated.
Macro-economic backdrop
– IMF global GDP growth downgraded to 2.8% and 3.0%
in 2025 and 2026 respectively given the impact of tariffs
on world trade.
– UK forecasts reduced; 1.0% GDP growth in 2025,
or 1.1% p.a. over the next three years, but London
is expected to outperform the UK as whole
(Oxford Economics).
– Consumer confidence weakened to the lowest level
since November 2023 (Trading Economics).
– Deloitte CFO survey: sentiment among UK CFOs reduced
with businesses assuming their most defensive strategy
stance since 2020 amid uncertainty over trade policy.
– UK composite PMI surveys indicate expansion at 51.5
at March 2025; London leads the UK at 54.9 (Natwest).
– Inflationary risks abating; UK CPI 2.6% in March 2025,
anticipated to reduce over the remainder of the year.
23Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our response
With rent a small part of business overheads in London,
companies are prepared to invest in quality office space
to attract talent, driving growth in prime rents across
the London and our portfolio.
See more on pages 36 to 38
Our response
Sustainability touches everything we do, and is core
to our approach to creating new spaces. It’s also a
key factor in defining prime office space, for which
customers are willing to pay a premium.
See more on pages 39 to 66
Our markets continued
The evolving premium workplace;
quality matters
– No longer purely a physical setting for work.
– Foster belonging, collaboration and productivity.
– Attract and retain top talent.
– Quality matters:
– Close proximity to public transport.
– Amenity-rich, both in and around the building.
– Outside space: terraces, gardens.
– Flexible work settings; supports hybrid working.
– Supports health & wellbeing/sustainability agenda.
– Prime rents +50% cumulative outperformance
versus secondary since 2020.
– Demand>supply; 74% additional supply required.
Sustainability;
an economic imperative
– Built environment c.40% of global carbon footprint.
– Real estate is a critical part of corporate
sustainability strategies.
– Demand for sustainable space outstripping demand:
– 11.6% average green rental premium.
– Energy-efficient offices deliver higher total returns.
– Planning regime increasingly challenging
and restricting supply:
– Demands highest sustainability credentials.
– Increasingly focused on embodied carbon; retrofit first.
– High barrier to entry.
Our response
We recognise that the best spaces are outperforming
the rest. As a result, through our HQ development
and Flex offers, we are delivering premium spaces
to meet this growing demand.
See more on pages 25 to 27
Key
West End City
Rents as a % of salary costs
structurally rebased
– Rent for a typical London business is only 5%–8%
of salary cost.
– Demand relatively price inelastic.
– Pricing power for best spaces.
Growing demand for premium
service and flexibility
– Hassle-free experience; all in one bill.
– Allows focus on business, not real estate.
– Capital-light for customer; refurbished by experts.
– High levels of shared amenity.
– Flexible lease terms (1–5 years); strong
customer loyalty.
– Demand growing and broadening:
– Attractive part of corporate footprint.
– 66% of all smaller central London lettings in last 12 months
(Savills/Workthere).
Structural growth: supportive themes
Driving occupational demand for premium spaces and prime rents
Our response
We are responding to the growing demand for
service and flexibility through our Flex office offers,
which are delivering strong rental and value growth.
See more on pages 28 and 29
Driving
prime
rents
’76 ’79 ’82 ’85 ’88 ’91 ’94 ’97 ’00 ’03 ’06 ’09 ’12 ’ 15 ’18 ’21
’24
0%
5%
10%
15%
20
%
25%
30%
24 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Our development activities and capex programme
With supportive occupational markets, our development
activities are extensive. Our forecasts indicate that the
supply of new commercial space in London is severely
limited. We estimate the delivery of only 2.7 million sq ft of
new space annually over the next four years, while average
demand will be significantly higher at 4.7 million sq ft
per annum. Our development programme is designed to
create new premium spaces with exceptional sustainability
credentials into these favourable markets through the
development of new HQ spaces and the expansion of our
Fully Managed office offer. Overall, we anticipate that our
planned capex of £700 million will deliver development
surpluses to come of £217 million, with the potential for
this to increase as rents are forecast to grow.
Three committed HQ development schemes
At 2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2, which is fully pre-let to Clifford
Chance LLP, construction works are progressing well as we
substantially increase the size of the building to 322,600 sq ft
(up from 176,000 sq ft). Installation of the steel frame is
complete and the building ‘topped out’ in February this year.
On completion, the scheme will provide a number of public
realm and amenity improvements that will have a positive
impact on the local area. The new building will have
best-in-class sustainability metrics and we are targeting
BREEAM ‘Outstanding’.
Whilst the development is currently anticipated to deliver a
loss on cost from the commitment date of 12.6%, given market
yield expansion driven valuation declines to date, from the
31 March 2025 valuation the scheme is expected to deliver
around £21 million of future profit.
At 30 Duke Street, SW1 (formerly French Railways House &
50 Jermyn Street), the deconstruction of the existing buildings
on the site is now complete and the new steel from the
dismantling of City Place House (now 2 Aldermanbury Square,
EC2) is being installed. Our major office-led redevelopment
will provide 70,900 sq ft (up from 54,700 sq ft) of new Grade A
space. Once complete, the building will provide best-in-class,
column free space together with high-specification amenities
including a wellness suite, private terraces on the upper floors,
a communal roof terrace with panoramic views, as well as the
highest sustainability credentials. The building is expected
to complete in Q3 2026 and we have pre-let all of the office
space at rents significantly above our underwrite. We have
£70 million of costs to come and the scheme is anticipated
to deliver a profit on cost of 35.1%, an ungeared IRR of 18.9%
and a 7.1% development yield.
At Minerva House, SE1, our extensive refurbishment will take
the overall commercial space to 143,000 sq ft, an increase of
approximately 56% on the existing area. We are maintaining
over 70% of the existing fabric and introducing innovative
ways of working that will further reduce the overall embodied
carbon impact of the development. As part of our activities,
20 tonnes of glass have been salvaged from the site and used
in the production of new glass; this is one of the first schemes
in the country to participate in this truly circular and innovative
process. We have good leasing interest in all the spaces and
anticipate the scheme will deliver a profit on cost of 19.0%,
an ungeared IRR of 11.6% and a development yield of 7.0%.
In total, across the three on-site HQ schemes we have
committed expenditure to come of £277 million and an
anticipated development surplus to come of £111 million.
2024/25 Strategic priorities:
5
Deliver and lease
the committed schemes
6
Prepare the pipeline
Business model
Acquire Reposition Operate & manage Recycle
Operational measures
1
2025 2024
Profit on cost 7.1% 3.5%
Ungeared IRR 11.3% 8.6%
Yield on cost 6.1% 6.0%
Income already secured 52.3% 32.3%
BREEAM >Excellent (targeted)
2
100% 100%
Committed capital expenditure
to come £357m £498m
1. Committed HQ developments and Flex refurbishments
at date of report.
2. Committed HQ developments.
Our approach
Upgrading our portfolio through development
using targeted capital expenditure creates premium,
sustainable spaces with improved customer appeal
and longevity. This enhances both rental values and
capital returns. The cyclical nature of central London
property markets means it is critical for us to match this
development activity to the appropriate point in the
cycle, delivering new buildings into a supportive market
when quality space is scarce and demand is resilient.
By combining our forensic analysis of market conditions
with our active portfolio management, we aim to be
opportunistic and flexible when planning the start
and, therefore, completion dates for our schemes.
We have a good track record of matching our activities
to the ebb and flow of London’s cyclical market and
providing spaces that customers want. Today, we have
three committed HQ development schemes and
four Flex refurbishments and a substantial pipeline
of opportunities. As a result, the successful leasing of
these schemes and preparation of the development
programme are key near-term strategic priorities.
London faces a near-term supply
shortage of high quality space. Our
well-timed development programme
will deliver the premium spaces
the market demands, supported by
a strengthening rental outlook.”
Andrew White Development Director
25Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our development activities and capex programme continued
Three near-term development schemes
Beyond our three committed schemes, we have a further
three schemes in our near-term pipeline.
At our Soho Square Estate, W1, located in the heart of
the West End at the eastern end of Oxford Street, we are
progressing our plans to commence the redevelopment in
the second half of 2025. We have reworked the designs, are
progressing neighbourly matters and, with a new planning
permission from Westminster to improve the quality of office
and retail space, we are further increasing its attractiveness to
prospective customers in a materially undersupplied market.
Our designs will provide a best-in-class HQ office building
on Soho Square with flagship retail fronting Oxford Street,
arranged over basement, lower ground, ground and eight
upper floors, with multiple private terraces and a communal
roof terrace.
At St Thomas Yard, SE1 (formerly New City Court), we have
submitted a planning application to the London Borough
of Southwark to extensively refurbish the existing space
utilising a reuse and extend approach (similar to Minerva
House). The building will serve as another exemplar of our
circular economy approach and is expected to perform
favourably in terms of our Circularity Score, with more detail
found on page 66. Our plan will increase the building to
188,800 sq ft of high quality, HQ offices, up from 98,000 sq ft
today. We anticipate that the planning application will
be approved by the end of the year.
At the recently acquired Whittington House, WC1, we have
now achieved vacant possession and are planning to refurbish
the building to deliver 74,800 sq ft of new Grade A offices, in close
proximity to both The Courtyard and the recently completed
31/34 Alfred Place, both WC1. The building will be arranged over
basement, ground and seven upper floors with a new terrace
on the first floor, together with a communal roof terrace with
pavilion amenity space. We will shortly be submitting a planning
application to Camden for our proposals. The building is delivered
with a high degree of retention of existing materials, including
the structure and facade, highlighting our commitment to
the principles of the circular economy.
In total, our three committed and three near-term schemes
are expected to deliver 893,300 sq ft of best-in-class,
highly sustainable space, perfectly placed to benefit from a
market where forward-look supply is severely constrained.
In total the schemes will require around £583 million of
anticipated capital expenditure to complete.
New scheme added to the pipeline
Following our acquisition of One Chapel Place, W1, we have
added the building to our pipeline. The building was acquired
with plans to materially increase the scale of the building
on this prime site. We intend to improve the designs with
the aim of achieving planning permission ahead of vacant
possession of the building in 2028.
Three committed HQ schemes: 536,500 sq ft
Computer generated images.
Minerva House, SE1
Size 143,000 sq ft
Construction cost £136m
Expected completion date Q1 2027
BREEAM target Outstanding
Distance to London Bridge station 250 metres
30 Duke Street, SW1
Size 70,900 sq ft
Construction cost £114m
Expected completion date Q3 2026
BREEAM target Outstanding
Distance to Elizabeth line station 750 metres
2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2
Size 322,600 sq ft
Construction cost £302m
Expected completion date Q1 2026
BREEAM target Outstanding
Distance to Elizabeth line station 250 metres
26 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Commitment to further Flex expansion
In order to expand our Flex office offers and meet our ambitious
targets for growth, we have a significant refurbishment
programme to provide new dedicated Fully Managed spaces,
as well as converting a significant number of individual floors
across our portfolio.
Two Fully Managed buildings completed
During the year, we completed the refurbishment and
conversion of two buildings, creating 89,500 sq ft of premium
Fully Managed space.
At SIX St Andrew Street, EC4, we delivered 47,800 sq ft
of new Grade A Fully Managed offices in November 2024.
We added two new storeys, together with extensive terracing
and significant amenity throughout the building. The building
has been well-received, with strong leasing momentum.
To date, 23,000 sq ft has been let, 8.9% above ERV, exceeding
our expectations.
At 31/34 Alfred Place, WC1, in the heart of Fitzrovia,
we completed the extensive refurbishment of the entirety
of the 41,700 sq ft building to provide outstanding Fully
Managed office space. We have been extremely pleased with
the leasing activity to date, and the building is now 74% let,
6.3% ahead of ERV, including our largest ever Fully Managed
lease to Next.
See our leasing and Flex activities on pages 28 and 29
Further deliveries to come from summer 2025
Construction progress has been good at both 141 Wardour
Street, W1 and 170 Piccadilly, SW1 (formerly Egyptian and
Dudley House), which are being comprehensively refurbished
to provide 29,900 sq ft and 25,600 sq ft of new Fully Managed
led space respectively. Both schemes are set to complete
in summer 2025 and, given our recent Fully Managed
leasing success, we are optimistic about their prospects.
At The Courtyard, WC1, opposite 31/34 Alfred Place, we have
recently received a planning approval for a significant
refurbishment of the building to deliver 63,600 sq ft of
new space, including 47,000 sq ft of Fully Managed offices.
Our plans will add additional amenity on the roof, together
with substantially reconfiguring the retail space on Tottenham
Court Road. We commenced the strip out of the space
and anticipate completion in spring 2027.
Together with a number of other conversions, we anticipate
growing our Flex offerings from 582,000 sq ft today to
672,000 sq ft organically. Moreover, we are aiming to add
to this programme through acquisition and are targeting
enlarging our Flex offerings to one million sq ft over the
next few years.
How we are positioned
In total, our HQ development and Flex capex programme
provides a strong platform for organic growth. Together,
our on-site and near-term schemes will deliver 1.1 million sq ft
of well-designed, tech-enabled and sustainable space into
a market where prospective supply is increasingly limited.
Moreover, with around £217 million of anticipated profit to
come based on today’s rents and yields, which could grow to
£342 million with 10% rental growth, they will be a significant
contributor to the Group’s growth in the coming years.
St Thomas Yard, SE1
Proposed size 188,800 sq ft
Earliest start 2026
Opportunity area Southbank
Distance to London Bridge station 100 metres
Whittington House, WC1
Proposed size 74,800 sq ft
Earliest start 2025
Opportunity area Core West End
Distance to Elizabeth line station 250 metres
Soho Square Estate, W1
Proposed size 93,200 sq ft
Earliest start 2025
Opportunity area Core West End
Distance to Elizabeth line station 100 metres
Three near-term HQ schemes: 356,800 sq ft
One Chapel Place, W1
Proposed size c.50,000–60,000 sq ft
Earliest start 2028
Opportunity area Core West End
Distance to Elizabeth line station 50 metres
Pipeline
27Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our leasing and Flex activities
With the business primed for growth, and significant
deliveries of new space in the year, we have tapped into
strong demand for premium space, driving significant
rental growth through standout leasing and exceptional
customer delivery. Supported by our Fully Managed spaces,
we signed £37.7 million of new leases, beating March 2024
rental values by 10.6%. This included our largest ever
Fully Managed lease to date at 31/34 Alfred Place, WC1,
with FTSE 100 retailer Next.
During the year, our rental values increased by 5.0% across
the portfolio, at the upper end of last year’s rental growth
guidance of between 4.0% and 7.0%. With a market starved of
new, Grade A supply, offices outperformed retail with like-for-
like office rental values increasing by 5.3% compared with a
3.5% increase in retail rental values. Within our office portfolio,
our Fully Managed rental values outperformed, increasing
by 7.5% on a like-for-like basis.
The key leasing highlights for the year included:
– 74 new leases and renewals completed (2024: 66 leases),
generating annual rent of £37.7 million (our share:
£32.6 million; 2024: £19.8 million), with market lettings
10.6% ahead of the valuers’ 31 March 2024 ERV;
– 45 Flex leases signed, four Fitted and 41 Fully Managed,
achieving on average £206 per sq ft on the Fully Managed
space, 10.1% ahead of March 2024 ERV;
– 16 new retail leases signed, securing £5.5 million of rent
with market lettings 4.6% ahead of March 2024 ERV;
– ten rent reviews securing £10.0 million of annual rent
(our share: £7.4 million; 2024: £8.4 million) were settled
at an increase of 6.2% over the previous rent and 11.8%
ahead of ERV at review date;
– total space covered by new lettings, reviews and
renewals was 359,800 sq ft (2024: 401,500 sq ft);
– the Group’s vacancy rate increased to 5.9%
(31 March 2024: 1.3%), owing to recent completions of
Fully Managed refurbishments, including SIX St Andrew
Street and 31/34 Alfred Place;
– the Group’s rent roll increased by 14.6% to £123.2 million
following our recent acquisitions and successful
leasing period (not including the pre-let at 2 Aldermanbury
Square, EC2 or 30 Duke Street, SW1); and
– of the 74 leases with breaks or expiries in the 12 months
to 31 March 2025, 93% were retained (87%), re-let, or
placed under offer (by area), leaving only 17,300 sq ft
still to transact.
Customer demand is growing and broadening for premium,
sustainable workspaces, including those that offer increased
levels of service and flexibility. This supportive structural
backdrop, combined with increasing shortage of such supply,
means we are well positioned. Accordingly, our rental growth
guidance for the next year continues to remain positive,
at 4.0% to 7.0%, with the best spaces even higher at
6.0% to 10.0%.
See our markets on pages 23 and 24
2024/25 Strategic priorities:
3
Deliver on our Flex ambition
5
Deliver and lease the
committed schemes
Business model
Acquire Reposition Operate & manage Recycle
Operational measures
2025 2024
New lettings and renewals £37.7m £22.5m
Premium to ERV
1
(market lettings) 10.6% 9.1%
Vacancy rate
2
5.9% 1.3%
ERV growth
2
5.0% 3.8%
Reversionary potential
2
11.0% 10.1%
Rent collected within seven days
3
99.7% 99.3%
1. ERV at beginning of financial year.
2. Including share of joint ventures.
3. For March 2025 quarter.
Our approach
We consider that a close relationship with our customers
is vital to our success. As a result, we manage all
aspects of our property portfolio in-house, enabling
us to continually refine our understanding of what
customers want and how we can meet their needs.
We aim to deliver a premium experience, through our
high quality teams, the energised spaces we provide
and high levels of customer service, all supported by
technology. Our Leasing and Marketing teams ensure
the spaces appeal to market demand and work with
our Development team to ensure that vacant possession
is achieved on a timely basis ahead of key development
starts, wherever possible relocating customers to
other buildings within our portfolio.
Our portfolio managers, supported by our Customer
Experience team, administer a portfolio of approximately
288 customers from a diverse range of industries across
41 buildings. This diversity limits our exposure to any
one customer or sector, with our 20 largest customers
at 31 March 2025 accounting for 35.7% (2024: 38.2%)
of our rent roll.
In occupational markets with
strong demand and an increasing
supply shortage for premium space,
we’ve delivered an excellent leasing
performance, delivering £37.7 million
of new leases and achieving rents
10.6% above the valuer’s estimate.”
Marc Wilder Leasing Director
28 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Retail: £5.5 million of deals completed,
strengthening our retail offer
We have continued to lease successfully across our prime
retail portfolio into resurgent retailer demand. We secured
£5.5 million of new retail leases in the year, with 11 new
customers to complement our diverse range of retail brands.
Following the 22,500 sq ft letting to TK Maxx announced
last year at Mount Royal, 508/540 Oxford Street, W1, and
the associated regear of the Superdrug lease, a further three
retail deals were completed this year, totalling 20,000 sq ft.
Almost 60% of the retail space available at Mount Royal,
W1, is now recently let, with a diverse offer of retail brands
in place who share a long-term vision for the retail revolution
we are seeing on Oxford Street.
Swarovski, the luxury crystal and fine jewellery brand, signed
a new ten-year lease in June 2024 for its latest London store
at 122 Regent Street, W1, comprising of 1,500 sq ft across
three floors. With its broad reach worldwide, Swarovski
complements the wider retail offering at the iconic Grade II
listed Kingsland and Carrington House.
In October 2024, we let 6,900 sq ft at 6/7 Portman Square,
Orchard Court, W1 to Gaggenau for their new global
flagship store. As a luxury brand for professional-grade home
appliances, Gaggenau will anchor GPE’s newly marketed
‘Portman & Wigmore’ which includes 1/9 Portman Square and
132/142 Wigmore Street, W1, creating a striking new location
for high-end retail and showroom use.
Customer First delivering customer retention
With our ‘Customer First’ approach embedded in the year,
our customer retention numbers remain high at 87% across
the whole portfolio and 91% across our Fully Managed spaces
for the last 12 months. Our retention rates demonstrate that,
as well as providing great spaces, our team is also delivering
market-leading customer experience. Our success was
underpinned by our leading portfolio NPS score of +26.1,
or +48.3 across our Fully Managed spaces, materially ahead
of the industry average of +13.6.
High retention helps reduce vacancy costs and lowers refresh
capital expenditure in our Flex spaces. Furthermore, should a
customer need to move, we aim to utilise our broad portfolio to
allow them to grow or contract with us. This includes transitioning
some of our Ready to Fit customers into our Flex space, as well as
providing opportunities for some of our smaller Flex customers
to graduate into larger and longer-term spaces as they grow.
How we are positioned
Despite the volatile macro-economic backdrop, the current
occupational trends play to our strengths. The deep customer
demand for premium spaces continues to dramatically
outstrip supply and the trend for smaller spaces to be provided
on a flexible basis is increasingly becoming the norm. With the
gap between the best and the rest likely to widen further.
Against this backdrop, we are strongly positioned: we have
excellent leasing momentum with GPE’s premium HQ and Fully
Managed spaces in high demand and we are confident for
the next round of deliveries. With the team and infrastructure
in place to support significant income and value growth,
there is more to come with an exceptional pipeline of
committed developments.
Fully Managed: outsized growth and returns
Our unique Flex offer is delivering growing and outsized
returns with £24.5 million of new leases in the year at 10.1%
ahead of March 2024 ERV. Total Flex leasing across the
GPE portfolio covered 123,300 sq ft.
Following extensive refurbishment, we completed 31/34
Alfred Place, WC1, our 41,700 sq ft Fully Managed building,
in January 2025. Since completion, we have let more than
27,600 sq ft of space at an average rent of £220 per sq ft.
This included our largest ever Fully Managed deal to date,
letting over 11,500 sq ft to FTSE 100 retailer Next, ahead of
underwrite and on a five-year term. 31/34 Alfred Place, WC1
forms part of a growing Fitzrovia cluster, with The Courtyard
and Whittington House in close proximity.
At SIX St Andrew Street, EC4, the refurbishment completed
in early November 2024. To date, around 23,000 sq ft of the
47,800 sq ft has been let to six new customers at an average
rent of £198 per sq ft.
With strong demand for GPE’s Fully Managed product
across the portfolio, confidence remains high for leasing the
remainder of 31/34 Alfred Place, WC1, and SIX St Andrew Street,
EC4, together with the prospects of our next building launches
at 170 Piccadilly, SW1 and 141 Wardour Street, W1, this summer.
Our Flex space; targeting one million sq ft
Our ambition to reach one million sq ft of Flex space
is undiminished, and during the year we increased our
committed Flex offering across the portfolio to a total of
582,000 sq ft (c.25% of our offices or c.20% of the total portfolio).
Looking forward, we will further drive our Flex growth through
converting our existing spaces as they become available and
through acquisition. Our recent investment in our Flex platform
means we have both the team and infrastructure in place
to accommodate this growth and to drive efficiencies and
economies of scale. Looking forward, the pipeline of new
spaces remains strong. We will deliver two new premium Fully
Managed buildings this summer and we have recently added
to the pipeline with the acquisition of The Courtyard, WC1
and 19/23 Wells Street, W1. Our strategy is to create targeted
Flex clusters, in amenity-rich locations, with excellent transport
links, with the aim of growing our Flex portfolio, both organically
and through acquisition, to one million sq ft.
Ready to Fit: £7.0 million of deals completed
We completed six Ready to Fit deals across various buildings
during the year, beating the March 2024 ERV by 17.1%.
Our largest leasing deal during the year was at 200 & 214
Gray’s Inn Road, WC1, where Independent Television News
(ITN) renewed both of its leases for 117,000 sq ft of workspace
at a 284,500 sq ft media hub building owned by a 50:50 joint
venture between GPE and Ropemaker Properties (BP Pension
Fund). With a £4.1 million annual rent, the new ten-year lease
demonstrates ITN’s confidence in GPE to upgrade the building
whilst continuing to meet their customer needs.
In May 2025, we pre-let the entirety of the office space
(62,500 sq ft) at 30 Duke Street, SW1 to leading global
investment firm CD&R, on a 15-year term without break and
with rents ahead of March 2025 ERV. The lease will commence
shortly after practical completion in summer 2026.
29Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our investment activities
Activity levels in central London investment markets
have remain muted given the volatile macro-economic
backdrop and interest rate environment. After completing
our fully underwritten £350 million rights issue in June
last year, we have continued to exploit this extended
window of opportunity and attractive pricing. In addition
to the organic capital expenditure investment we have
made during the year, we have completed four acquisitions,
totalling £162.1 million.
Acquisitions for the year ended 31 March 2025
Price
£m
NIY
%
Area
sq ft
Cost
per
sq ft
The Courtyard, WC1 28.6 n/a 62,700 462
19/23 Wells Street, W1 19.0 4.0% 19,200 991
Whittington House, WC1 58.5 8.6% 74,500 785
One Chapel Place, W1 56.0 4.4% 34,200 1,636
Total 162.1 190,600 850
In May 2024, we exchanged on a property swap to acquire
The Courtyard, WC1 in exchange for 95/96 New Bond Street,
W1 at £18.2 million plus £10.4 million of cash consideration
equating to, £462 per sq ft, c.69% below replacement cost.
The Courtyard comprises 62,700 sq ft of vacant office and
partially let retail space and is well suited to be repositioned
into the Group’s Fully Managed offering. The Courtyard is
located in a prime West End location, around 400 metres from
Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth line station, and is opposite
31/34 Alfred Place, WC1 one of the Group’s other Fully Managed
buildings. The acquisition completed in January 2025.
In October 2024, we acquired 19/23 Wells Street, W1, for
£19.0 million (£991 per sq ft, c.45% below replacement cost).
Simultaneously, GPE secured a new 125-year headlease with
Berners-Allsopp Estate for £1.25 million, effective October 2024
to October 2149. The 19,200 sq ft Fitzrovia building spans six
floors plus a basement and we plan to convert it to our Fully
Managed offer and enhance the ground floor for best-in-class
amenity, targeting a 6.5% yield on cost.
In November 2024, we acquired the long leasehold interest
of Whittington House, WC1 for a headline price of £58.5 million
(£785 per sq ft on current NIA, c.60% discount to replacement
cost). Located a short walk from the Tottenham Court Road
Elizabeth line station, the 74,500 sq ft HQ building provides GPE
with an exciting opportunity to create outstanding office spaces
that draw upon its iconic Richard Seifert & Partners design,
delivering eight floors of sustainable offices with market-leading
amenity, fronting on to the newly pedestrianised Alfred Place.
Whittington House sits adjacent to GPE’s existing holdings
at 31/34 Alfred Place and opposite The Courtyard, thereby
adding to a growing cluster of buildings that will provide
GPE customers with a choice of spaces and amenity in this
vibrant location.
In March 2025, we acquired the freehold of One Chapel Place,
W1 for a headline price of £56.0 million. The 34,200 sq ft building
is fully let at an annual rent of c.£2.5 million per annum, with the
office leases due to expire in mid-2028. The building is located
in the heart of the West End, just a short walk from Bond Street
tube station and the Elizabeth line. The acquisition provides
GPE with an exciting opportunity to increase the scale of the
building and deliver a highly sustainable, best-in-class HQ
redevelopment in this prime location.
2024/25 Strategic priority:
2
Enhance portfolio through
sales and acquisitions
Business model
Acquire Reposition Operate & manage Recycle
Operational measures
1
2025 2024
Acquisitions £162.1m £122.9m
Capital value per sq ft £850 £911
Sales £18.2m £13.4m
Discount to book value
2
(0.8%) (5.4%)
Capital value per sq ft £2,035 £1,546
Total investment transactions
3
£180.3m £136.3m
Net investment
4
£143.9m £109.5m
1. Including share of joint ventures.
2. Based on book values at start of financial year.
3. Purchases plus sales.
4. Purchases less sales.
Our approach
Buying at the right price and selling at the right time is
central to our business model. Using our extensive network of
market contacts, our Investment team adopts a disciplined
approach with clearly defined acquisition criteria.
See more on pages 05 and 07
To supplement our organic Flex growth, we are also
targeting acquisitions suitable for conversion to
Flex office space, with the following requirements:
– amenity-rich locations with excellent transport links;
– clustering around existing GPE holdings is desirable;
– 30,000–60,000 sq ft with divisible floorplates;
– target unit size of 2,000–6,000 sq ft;
– ability to create internal and external amenity space;
– high quality ground floor experience;
– product and market appropriate refurbishment capex; and
– opportunity to deliver stabilised income of 6%+.
Once we have acquired a property, the Investment
team works closely with our Portfolio Management
and Development teams to deliver the business plan
and maximise the property’s potential. Every asset’s
business plan is updated quarterly, providing estimates
of forward-look returns under different market scenarios.
These plans also inform our sales activities, with the
assets providing the lower risk-adjusted returns often
being sold and the proceeds recycled into better
performing opportunities or returned to shareholders.
Since the rights issue last summer,
we have made four acquisitions in the
West End. Including the associated
capex for these buildings, we have now
allocated the majority of the funds raised.”
Dan Nicholson Executive Director
30 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Sales for the year ended 31 March 2025
Price
£m
Premium/
(discount)
to book
value %
Price per
sq ft
£
NIY
%
95/96 New Bond St, W1 18.2 (0.8%) 2,035 1.4%
Total 18.2 (0.8%) 2,035
How we are positioned
We are actively seeking new buildings for our Flex offerings,
as well as opportunities for HQ repositioning or development
and we increasingly expect the sustainability challenge to
provide us with opportunities to acquire stranded assets
needing a sustainability solution.
Encouragingly, we anticipate that market conditions will
continue to provide opportunities to buy as we see more
assets trading closer to our view of fair value. Furthermore,
we currently have £1.0 billion of assets actively under review.
They are predominantly off market, with the majority
being HQ repositioning opportunities, and over half are in
the West End. However, we remain disciplined. Any potential
purchase needs to outperform the assets we already own,
and with our existing portfolio stacked with opportunity,
the hurdle is high.
With capital values rising and investment market activity
improving, albeit from a low base, we anticipate shifting
our focus towards sales, as we look to crystallise surpluses
where our business plans are complete, including some
of our long-dated assets. Accordingly, we have around
£350 million of near-term sales under consideration.
Current value deals under review £bn
£1.0 billion under review – 16 buildings
1.6
2.0
1.2
0.8
0.4
0.0
May
2019
Nov
2019
May
2020
Nov
2020
May
2021
Nov
2021
May
2022
Nov
2022
May
2023
Nov
2024
May
2024
Nov
2023
Mar
2025
Flex
HQ Repositioning
22%
78%
Whittington House, WC1
Area 74,500 sq ft
Acquisition date November 2024
Price £58.5m
Opportunity HQ redevelopment
Distance to Elizabeth line station 250 metres
The Courtyard, WC1
Area 62,700 sq ft
Acquisition date January 2025
Price £28.6m
Opportunity Fully Managed refurbishment
Distance to Elizabeth line station 200 metres
19/23 Wells Street, W1
Area 19,200 sq ft
Acquisition date October 2024
Price £19.0m
Opportunity Fully Managed refurbishment
Distance to Elizabeth line station 400 metres
One Chapel Place, W1
Area 34,200 sq ft
Acquisition date March 2025
Price £56.0m
Opportunity HQ redevelopment
Distance to Elizabeth line station 50 metres
Four acquisitions; all West End
31Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our financial results
As is usual practice in our sector, we use alternative performance
measures (APMs) to help explain the performance of the business.
These include quoting a number of measures on a proportionately
consolidated basis to include joint ventures, as it best describes
how we manage the portfolio, like-for-like measures and
using measures prescribed by EPRA. The measures defined by
EPRA are designed to enhance transparency and comparability
across the European real estate sector. Reconciliations of APMs
are included in note 9 of the financial statements.
See more about performance measures and EPRA metrics
on page 35 and note 9 to the financial statements
£350 million rights issue completed
In June 2024, we completed a fully underwritten three for
five rights issue to raise gross proceeds of approximately
£350.3 million (£335.6 million net of expenses) through the issue
of 152,320,747 new ordinary shares at a price of 230 pence
each. The rights issue was designed to allow GPE to seize the
significant opportunity we saw emerging in the central London
commercial real estate space. We have now allocated the
majority of the funds into new opportunities. Comparative per
share metrics for prior years have been adjusted accordingly
(see note 9 to the financial statements).
Valuation uplifts increase IFRS NAV and EPRA NTA
IFRS NAV and EPRA NTA per share at 31 March 2025 were
494 pence per share compared to the pro forma net assets per
share of 473 pence at 31 March 2024 (see below), an increase
of 4.4% over the year, largely due to the 3.6% like-for-like
valuation uplift in the property portfolio. When combined
with ordinary dividends paid of £31.8 million, this delivered
a Total Accounting Return of 6.0%.
EPRA NTA pence per share
480
420
400
500
520
440
460
Increase Decrease Total
31 March
2024
473
Revaluation
24
Ordinary
dividends
(8)
5
EPS 31 March
2025
494
The main drivers of the 21 pence per share increase
in EPRA NTA from 31 March 2024 included:
– the increase of 24 pence per share arising from the
revaluation of the property portfolio, with values troughing
as anticipated last year; virtually all of the increase in value
was driven by rental growth and our leasing activities;
– EPRA earnings for the year of 5 pence per share
enhanced NTA; and
– ordinary dividends paid of 8 pence per share (based on
the closing number of shares) reduced NTA.
At 31 March 2025, the Group’s net assets were £2,000.7 million,
up from £1,583.0 million at 31 March 2024, with the increase
largely attributable to the receipt of the £335.6 million net
proceeds from the rights issue and the 3.6% increase in the
property valuation. EPRA NDV and EPRA NRV were 506 pence
and 546 pence at 31 March 2025 respectively, compared
with 537 pence and 576 pence at 31 March 2024, on an
EPRA basis.
See more about our capital strength on page 33
Revenue stable; rental income down given
high level of refurbishment activity
Revenue for the year was £94.2 million, marginally down from
£95.4 million on the prior year, driven by a reduction in rental
income including lease incentives (down £4.9 million), reduced
service charge income (down £1.6 million) and greater Fully
Managed services income (up £4.5 million) given its expansion.
The Group’s revenue was supported by our successful leasing
as we continued to deliver new space across the portfolio.
We signed 74 leases, generating new annual income of
£37.7 million p.a. (our share: £32.6 million), with the majority
of activity across our Fully Managed properties.
Net rental income, after taking account of expected credit
losses, lease incentives and ground rents, was £67.3 million,
down from £72.1 million in the prior year, as we continued
to take space back from customers to enable us to create
new HQ and Fully Managed spaces.
Adjusting for acquisitions, disposals and transfers to and
from the development programme, like-for-like rental
income (including share of joint ventures) decreased
by 0.7% excluding expected credit losses.
Joint venture fee income for the year was £2.5 million,
an increase of £0.8 million, as a result of increased leasing
activity in the joint ventures during the year, including
the lease renewal with ITN at 200 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1.
Strong rent collection
We secured in excess of 99% of all rents, including in our joint
ventures, within seven days of the due date. Since 1 April 2024,
one of our customers went into administration, representing
less than 0.1% of our rent roll. At 31 March 2025, we held
rent deposits and bank guarantees totalling £22.9 million,
including our share of joint ventures.
£2.0bn
Net assets
The combination of a strong operating
performance and attractive rental
growth for premium spaces enabled us
to deliver a 4.4% uplift in EPRA NTA and
a total accounting return of 6.0%.”
Nick Sanderson Chief Financial & Operating Officer
32 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Cost of sales increased
Cost of sales increased from £33.3 million to £35.1 million
for the year ended 31 March 2025. This increase was primarily
driven by increased Fully Managed service expenses which
rose to £10.8 million, from £8.1 million in the prior year, as we
increased the delivery of this space across the portfolio.
At 31 March 2024, we had 82 Fully Managed units; at 31 March
2025 this rose to 118 units. Service charge expenses reduced by
£1.2 million, in line with the greater weighting to Fully Managed
spaces, which do not have service charge arrangements.
Other property expenses and ground rents were largely
unchanged year on year.
Taken together, net service charge income, net Fully Managed
services income and expenses, other property costs and
expected credit loss provisions for service charges reduced
to £10.9 million from £11.8 million in the prior year.
Joint venture earnings
EPRA earnings from joint ventures was £7.3 million, down from
£9.8 million in the prior year, with the reduction primarily due to
the departure of ITV from 200 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1. ITV’s lease
expired on 31 March 2024, providing an opportunity to refurbish
the space, together with dramatically improving the amenity
in the building. The refurbishment works are anticipated to
complete in summer 2026.
Administration costs down
Administration costs were £40.0 million, £2.3 million lower
than the previous year. Employment costs reduced marginally
over the period, as increases from additional headcount
and inflationary adjustments were more than outweighed
by the one-off restructuring costs incurred in the prior year.
The reduction in the Group’s overhead was driven, in part,
by lower IT, HR and marketing spend together with lower
occupational costs following the renegotiation of the lease
for the Group’s head office.
Increased gross interest costs
Gross finance costs on our debt facilities were £39.6 million,
£10.6 million higher than the prior year. This increase was primarily
due to a combination of higher levels of average drawn debt
(including greater utilisation of the Group’s £250 million term loan
and the issue of our £250 million inaugural sustainable sterling
bond), which was used to fund both our recent acquisitions as
well as capital expenditure on the Group’s development and Flex
refurbishments, together with higher underlying interest rates.
Capitalised interest was £26.5 million, up £15.2 million on the prior
year given heightened development activity, including greater
cumulative spend across our committed developments together
with a number of refurbishment schemes to deliver on our Flex
ambitions, including 141 Wardour Street, W1, 170 Piccadilly, SW1,
SIX St Andrew Street, EC4 and 31/34 Alfred Place, WC1. As a result,
the Group had net finance costs (including interest receivable)
of £13.1 million (2024: £17.7 million).
EPRA earnings
EPRA earnings were £20.2 million, 12.8% higher than last year
as expected, predominantly due to lower net finance and
administration costs more than offsetting lower net rental
income and the Group’s tax charge.
EPRA earnings £m
Increase Decrease Total
31 March
2024
17.9
Rental
income
(4.8)
Joint
venture
earnings
and fees
(1.7)
Property and
admin costs,
and other
income
3.9
Tax and
other
(1.6)
Net
interest
6.5
20.2
31 March
2025
0
20
15
10
5
25
Revaluation uplifts in the Group’s investment properties,
together with improved EPRA earnings, led to the Group’s
reported IFRS profit after tax of £116.0 million (2024: loss
of £307.8 million). Basic and diluted earnings per share
for the year were 30.2 pence and 30.1 pence respectively,
compared with a 101.4 pence loss for 2024 (restated for the
impact of the rights issue). Diluted EPRA EPS was 5.2 pence
(2024: 5.9 pence restated), a decrease of 11.9%, and cash
EPS was 0.3 pence (2024: 1.2 pence).
Results of joint ventures
The Group’s net investment in joint ventures increased
to £507.2 million at 31 March 2025, up from £491.3 million
in the previous year. The increase is largely due to the 2.7% like-
for-like increase in value of the joint venture property portfolio.
Our share of joint venture net rental income was £15.9 million,
down from £19.4 million last year, with the reduction primarily
due to the expiry of ITV’s lease at 200 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1,
in the Great Ropemaker Partnership.
See more about our joint ventures on page 74
Our capital strength
While our primary objective is to deliver returns consistently
ahead of our cost of capital, we also seek to minimise the cost
of our capital through the appropriate mix of equity and debt
finance, and to ensure that we have access to sufficient financial
resources to implement our business plans. Optimising and flexing
the allocation of capital across our portfolio, including between
our investment and development activities, is key to our business
and ensuring that we maximise returns on a risk-adjusted basis
through the property cycle. Accordingly, we operate with
four key ‘givens’:
– conservative leverage to enhance, not drive, returns;
– sustainable ordinary dividends;
– disciplined capital allocation; and
– balance sheet efficiency – track record of accretively
raising and returning capital.
Our preference for low financial leverage helps to provide
downside protection when operating in the cyclical central
London property market and to maintain the financial
flexibility to allow us to act quickly on new investment
opportunities as they arise.
33Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our financial results continued
Our capital strength; EPRA LTV of 30.8%
The Group’s consolidated net debt increased to £817.0 million,
or £835.7 million excluding customer deposits at 31 March 2025,
compared with £738.0 million at 31 March 2024. The movement in
the year was largely driven by the acquisition of four buildings
for £162.1 million (excluding costs), together with £288.1 million
of development and refurbishment capital expenditure across
the Group. This investment more than outweighed the net
proceeds from the rights issue last summer. Overall, given the
new equity capital raised from the rights issue, the Group’s
gearing decreased to 41.9% at 31 March 2025 from 46.8%
at 31 March 2024.
Including cash balances in joint ventures, total net debt,
excluding net liabilities, was £801.1 million (2024: £695.3 million)
or £820.9 million excluding customer deposits, equivalent to
an EPRA LTV of 30.8% (2024: 32.6%). At 31 March 2025, we had
no external debt in any of our joint ventures. At 31 March 2025,
the Group, including its joint ventures, had unrestricted cash
(£33.0 million) and undrawn committed credit facilities
(£343.0 million) totalling £376.0 million.
Debt analysis
March
2025
March
2024
Net debt excluding JVs (£m)
1
835.7 738.0
Net gearing 41.9% 46.8%
Total net debt including 50%
JV cash balances (£m)
1
820.9 713.5
EPRA LTV 30.8% 32.6%
Interest cover 10.9x 3.7x
Weighted average interest rate 4.7% 4.3%
Weighted average cost of debt 5.2% 4.1%
% of drawn debt fixed/hedged 85% 87%
Cash and undrawn facilities (£m) 376.0 633.4
1. Excludes customer deposits.
During the year, to support the delivery of our strategic
priorities, including funding the Group’s near-term
development programme, the Group concluded a number
of debt transactions:
– In May 2024, we repaid the Group’s £175 million private
placement notes on maturity;
– In November 2024, we repaid £175 million of the £250 million
term loan;
– In September 2024, we issued a £250 million seven-year
sterling sustainable bond; and
– In November 2024, we signed a new £150 million ESG-linked
Revolving Credit Facility.
Including this activity, the Group’s weighted average cost of debt
for the year, including fees, was 5.2% and its weighted average
interest rate (excluding fees) was 4.7%, up from 4.3% and 4.1%
respectively. At 31 March 2025, our weighted average drawn
debt maturity was 5.2 years (31 March 2024: 3.4 years).
At 31 March 2025, 85% of the Group’s total drawn debt was at
fixed or hedged rates (2024: 87%). The Group is operating with
substantial headroom over its debt covenants. At 31 March 2025,
given our low levels of leverage, property values would have
to fall a further 41% before covenant breach.
Balance sheet discipline
When considering the appropriate level of financial leverage
in the business, we apply the same capital discipline that we
use when making asset-level decisions. Typically, we aim for
an EPRA LTV ratio of between 10% and 35% through the cycle.
Additionally, we have a track record of accretively raising and
returning equity capital to shareholders at the appropriate
time and in the appropriate circumstances, including returning
£616 million to shareholders between 2017 and 2020, following
profitable recycling activity (see page 05 for further details).
Taxation
The current tax charge for the year was £1.6 million (2024: £nil)
and the deferred tax charge for the year was £0.2 million
(2024: £nil). The effective tax rate on EPRA earnings was 7.4%
(2024: 0%). The majority of the Group’s income is tax-free as a
result of its REIT status, and other allowances were available
to set against non-REIT profits. The Group complied with
all the requirements necessary to maintain its REIT status
throughout the year.
As a REIT, the majority of rental profits and chargeable
gains from our property rental business are exempt from UK
corporation tax, provided we meet a number of conditions,
including distributing at least 90% of the rental income profits
of this business (known as Property Income Distributions (PIDs))
on an annual basis. These PIDs are then typically treated as
taxable income in the hands of shareholders. During the year,
the Group paid £10.1 million of PIDs.
If our REIT interest cover is below 1.25x each year, we are subject
to corporation tax on the shortfall. During the year, our REIT
interest cover was below 1.25x and as a result we incurred
a current tax charge of £1.6 million.
The Group’s REIT exemption does not extend to either profits
arising from the sale of trading properties or gains arising from
the sale of investment properties in respect of which a major
redevelopment has completed within the preceding three
years. The Group is otherwise subject to corporation tax.
Despite being a REIT, we are subject to a number of other taxes
and certain sector-specific charges in the same way as non-REIT
companies. During the year, we incurred £15.3 million in respect of
stamp taxes, section 106 contributions, community infrastructure
levies, empty rates in respect of vacant space, head office rates,
employer’s National Insurance and irrecoverable VAT.
All entities within the Group are UK tax resident; as our business
is located wholly in the UK, we consider this to be appropriate.
The Group maintains an open working relationship with HMRC
and seeks pre-clearance in respect of complex transactions.
HMRC regards the Group as ‘low risk’ and maintaining this
status is a key objective of the Group.
See more about our tax strategy at:
www.gpe.co.uk/about-us/governance
Financial outlook
As we deliver on our business plans and crystallise surpluses,
we expect property values and net assets to grow from here,
supported by our positive market outlook. Furthermore, as we
deliver new spaces we expect to increase income and EPRA
EPS, supporting our progressive dividend policy. As a result,
we expect our Total Accounting Return to strengthen and are
targeting an annual return on equity above 10%, excluding
potential yield compression.
34 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Ordinary dividends
Given the low yielding nature of London real estate, the Group
operates a low and progressive ordinary dividend policy, with
the aim of maintaining average dividend cover of 1.0x through
the cycle. The Board recommended that, following the rights
issue, the total dividend for the year would be stable on a cash
basis with the prior year. As such, in the period the Group paid a
final dividend of 7.9 pence per share (on the pre-rights number
of shares) and an interim dividend of 2.9 pence per share (on the
post rights number of shares). The Board has recommended
a final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2025 of 5.0 pence
per share, which will be paid, subject to shareholder approval,
on 7 July 2025 to shareholders on the register on 30 May 2025.
None of the final dividend will be a REIT PID in respect of
the Group’s tax-exempt property rental business.
Ordinary dividends £m
2022 20232021
0
35
2025
15
20
30
25
5
10
31.8
31.9
31.8
31.931.9
2024
EPRA performance measures
Measure Definition of measure
March
2025
March
2024
EPRA earnings* Earnings from operational activities £20.2m £17.9m
EPRA EPS* EPRA earnings divided by the weighted average number of shares 5.3p 5.9p**
Diluted EPRA EPS* EPRA earnings divided by the diluted weighted average number of shares 5.2p 5.9p**
EPRA costs
(by portfolio value)*
EPRA costs (including direct vacancy costs) divided by market value
of the portfolio. See calculation on page 167. 1.8% 2.3%
EPRA capital
expenditure*
The Group’s capital expenditure on the portfolio categorised
between acquisitions, development and on the investment portfolio £471.7m £295.0m
EPRA NTA* Assumes that entities buy and sell assets, thereby crystallising certain
levels of unavoidable deferred tax. Diluted net assets per share adjusted
to remove the cumulative fair value movements on interest rate swaps
and similar instruments, the carrying value of goodwill arising as a result
of deferred tax and other intangible assets £2,000.7m £1,582.6m
EPRA NTA per share* EPRA NTA assets divided by the number of shares at the balance sheet
date on a diluted basis 494p 473p***
EPRA NDV* Represents the shareholders’ value under a disposal scenario, where
deferred tax, financial instruments and certain other adjustments are
calculated to the full extent of their liability, net of any resulting tax.
Diluted net assets per share adjusted to remove the impact of goodwill
arising as a result of deferred tax and fixed interest rate debt £2,047.2m £1,633.7m
EPRA NDV per share* EPRA NDV assets divided by the number of shares at the balance sheet
date on a diluted basis 506p 537p**
EPRA NRV* Represents the value of net assets on a long-term basis. Assets and
liabilities that are not expected to crystallise in normal circumstances
such as the fair value movements on financial derivatives, real estate
transfer taxes, and deferred taxes on property valuation surpluses
are therefore excluded £2,210.0m £1,752.7m
EPRA NRV per share* EPRA NRV assets divided by the number of shares at the balance sheet
date on a diluted basis 546p 576p**
EPRA LTV Debt (including net payables) divided by market value of the property 30.8% 32.6%
EPRA NIY Annualised rental income based on cash rents passing at the balance
sheet date less non-recoverable property operating expenses,
divided by the market value of the property increased by estimated
purchasers’ costs. See calculation table on page 171 2.7% 3.2%
EPRA ‘topped-up’ NIY EPRA NIY adjusted to include rental income in rent-free periods
(or other unexpired lease incentives). See calculation table on page 171 3.3% 3.4%
EPRA vacancy rate ERV of non-development vacant space as a percentage of ERV
of the whole portfolio (minus developments). See calculation table
on page 201 32.8% 28.4%
* Audited; reconciliation to IFRS numbers included in note 9 to the financial statements.
** Restated for rights issue.
*** On a pro forma basis.
35Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our portfolio
Our portfolio is exclusively based in central London,
with the majority located in the West End. Our customers
are diverse, and their demands and preferences are
evolving at a rapid pace. As a result, we are committed
to shaping our products and services to meet these
changing needs.
Well-located central London portfolio
Our specialist approach requires focus. As a result, we only
operate in central London. Whilst our origins lie in the West
End, we recognise that central London is growing, and as it
grows, new locations will become sought after by customers
seeking new homes for their businesses. As a result, we remain
opportunistic and will invest across central London where
we see both value and opportunities for growth.
See more about our customers on pages 73 and 74
Evolving our premium products
To succeed, we need to provide our customers with premium
spaces that are flexible, sustainable and beautifully designed,
offering high quality services to provide an enticing real estate
experience. To achieve this Customer First approach, and
meet changing needs and working patterns, we have evolved
our products to focus on two complementary, overlapping
activities, and our portfolio is well suited to deliver both:
– HQ repositioning – developing larger, best-in-class HQ
buildings. Growing demand for very high quality, brand
new space has remained strong and the future supply of
space remains limited. Today our committed development
programme totals 13.0% of the Group’s existing portfolio.
This pipeline of opportunity provides raw material, often
with poor sustainability credentials, which we can transform
into best-in-class spaces designed to let well in their
local markets, be future proofed in a rapidly changing
world and have regard to the wider environment in
which they are located.
– Flex spaces – smaller fitted units, often with higher service
levels. Customers in our smaller spaces are increasingly
demanding the provision of flexibility, amenity and services.
Accordingly, we have developed a choice of Flex offerings to
meet this need. We provide spaces that are delivered flexibly
on a Fitted or Fully Managed basis, making life easier and
hassle free. Where the management of the space is more
intensive, delivered by the desk or room, we partner with
another provider to meet this demand. Our portfolio, with
around 80% of our spaces sub-10,000 sq ft, is perfectly
placed to meet this demand.
Both of these business activities are complementary and
primed for growth. Our on-site HQ developments and Flex
conversions will commit £357 million of further capital,
delivering 674,800 sq ft of brand new space, and we have
an ambition to significantly grow our Flex offerings to
more than one million sq ft in the coming years.
Operational measures
3.6%
Property valuation increase
(on a like-for-like basis)
26.4%
Percentage of portfolio on-site
in Flex and HQ development
programmes
12 bps
Outward yield movement
25.5%
Percentage of office portfolio
in committed Flex offerings
Our approach
Our focused business model is based upon
repositioning properties to unlock their often hidden
potential. This repositioning relies on having a deep
understanding of the markets in which we operate,
to enable us to unearth new opportunities, provide
spaces that customers demand and develop
buildings for the customers of tomorrow.
We aim to position our portfolio to maximise
the opportunity for future growth. As a result, every
property has a detailed business plan which forecasts
each and every customer’s future cash flows and,
using our own assumptions for future movements in
rents and yields, forecasts the forward-look returns
for the portfolio. If a property’s prospective returns
do not meet our required investment hurdles, taking
into account both our cost of capital and the risks,
typically it is sold.
The strength of our occupational
markets, combined with our
leasing successes, increased
our rental values and lifted our
portfolio valuation by 3.6%.”
Hugh Morgan Director of Portfolio Management
36 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
+12.8%
12-month Fully Managed valuation increase
Attribution of like-for-like capital growth %
Residual
6%
Rental value growthYield shift
4%2%0%-2%-4%
12 months
8%
1.3%5.0%(2.7)%
6 months
0.8%(1.8)% 3.9%
Including rent from leases currently in rent-free periods,
the adjusted initial yield of the investment portfolio at
31 March 2025 was 3.8%, 10 basis points lower than the
start of the financial year.
Whilst the overall valuation increased by 3.6% during the year
on a like-for-like basis, elements of the portfolio continued
to show greater variation:
– overall our office portfolio increased by 4.3% (supported
by the strong performance of our Fully Managed office
space +12.8%), outperforming the Group’s retail space
which was up 1.0% as the retail recovery continues on
the back of further rental growth (+3.5%);
– including developments, our West End portfolio (+4.5%)
performed better than our rest of London portfolio (+1.5%),
given a greater yield expansion in the City (+23 basis points)
as well as rent value growth in our West End portfolio of
+5.9% outperforming the City +3.9%;
– newer, higher quality buildings outperformed older assets,
with those assets with a capital value per sq ft in excess
of £1,000 per sq ft, increasing in value by 5.8% compared
to those with a capital value per sq ft of less than £1,000
per sq ft which reduced by 0.9%; and
– buildings with better sustainability credentials continued
to outperform. Buildings with an EPC rating of A or B
increased in value by 4.8%, outperforming properties
with an EPC of C or D which increased by 2.1% in the year.
Our joint venture properties increased in value by 2.7% over
the year, driven by our prime mixed-use Hanover Square site,
whilst our wholly-owned portfolio increased by 3.8% on a
like-for-like basis.
Prime spaces driving valuation uplift
The valuation of our portfolio, including our share of
joint ventures, increased over the 12 months by 3.6% on
a like-for-like basis, to £2,869.3 million at 31 March 2025.
Our portfolio by value – 72% in West End
1
33%
North of Oxford Street £1,113.0m
Rest of West End £954.1m
City £440.4m
Southwark £195.7m
Midtown £166.1m
7%
6%
39%
15%
1. Including share of joint ventures.
The key drivers behind the Group’s valuation increase
for the year, including joint ventures at share, were:
– our Fully Managed portfolio increased by 12.8% in the
12 months on a like-for-like basis with our four Flex
refurbishment projects, including two that completed
in the year, up 16.4% largely due to rental value increases
across our prime spaces;
See more about our leasing and Flex activities on pages 28 and 29
– rental value growth – the continued demand for our
best-in-class spaces has helped increase our rental values.
Since the start of the financial year, our rental values
increased by 5.0% on a like-for-like basis, with our office
portfolio up by 5.3% and our prime offices up even higher
by 7.6%. ERVs in our retail portfolio increased by 3.5%;
See more about our markets on pages 23 and 24
– higher investment yields – given the backdrop of higher
interest rates, equivalent yields increased marginally
by 12 basis points (2024: 56 basis points) during the year
(office: +14 basis points; retail: +5 basis points). At 31 March
2025, the portfolio true equivalent yield was 5.5%;
See more about our markets on pages 23 and 24
– HQ developments values stabilising – the valuation of our
three committed HQ development properties increased
by 1.2% on a like-for-like basis to £372.9 million during
the period; and
See more about our development activity on pages 25 to 27
– portfolio management – we delivered a strong leasing year,
signing new leases, rent reviews and renewals, with new
lettings 10.6% ahead of the March 2024 ERV. This secured
£40.0 million (our share) of annual income, supporting
the valuation over the year. At 31 March 2025, the portfolio
was 11.0% reversionary.
See more about our leasing and Flex activities on pages 28 and 29
37Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our portfolio continued
Portfolio performance
Wholly-
owned
£m
Joint
ventures
1
£m
Total
£m
Proportion
of portfolio
%
Valuation
movement
%
North of Oxford Street Office 733.7 – 733.7 25.6 3.4
Retail 160.4 41.0 201.4 7.0 4.0
Residential 3.6 – 3.6 0.1 (8.5)
Rest of West End Office 364.7 251.1 615.8 21.5 8.5
Retail 147.9 111.3 259.2 9.0 (1.8)
Residential 0.7 – 0.7 – (4.0)
Total West End 1,411.0 403.4 1,814.4 63.2 4.4
City, Midtown and Southwark Office 402.3 97.4 499.7 17.4 2.9
Retail 8.0 – 8.0 0.3 1.4
Residential – – – – –
Total City, Midtown and Southwark 410.3 97.4 507.7 17.7 2.8
Investment property portfolio 1,821.3 500.8 2,322.1 80.9 4.0
Development property 372.9 – 372.9 13.0 1.2
Total properties held throughout the year 2,194.2 500.8 2,695.0 93.9 3.6
Acquisitions 174.3 – 174.3 6.1 0.9
Portfolio valuation 2,368.5 500.8 2,869.3 100 3.4
1. GPE share.
Portfolio characteristics
Investment
properties
£m
Development
properties
£m
Total
property
portfolio
£m
Office
£m
Retail
£m
Residential
£m
Total
£m
Net
internal
area sq ft
000s
North of Oxford Street 1,113.0 – 1,113.0 892.6 216.8 3.6 1,113.0 952
Rest of West End 875.7 78.4 954.1 687.8 265.6 0.7 954.1 655
Total West End 1,988.7 78.4 2,067.1 1,580.4 482.4 4.3 2,067.1 1,607
City, Midtown and Southwark 507.7 294.5 802.2 790.5 9.2 2.5 802.2 1,317
Total 2,496.4 372.9 2,869.3 2,370.9 491.6 6.8 2,869.3 2,924
By use: Office 2,008.0 362.9 2,370.9
Retail 484.1 7.5 491.6
Residential 4.3 2.5 6.8
Total 2,496.4 372.9 2,869.3
Net internal area sq ft 000s 2,387 537 2,924
£2.87bn
Portfolio valuation
38 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Sustainability
Our vision
Creating premium sustainable spaces sits at the heart of our
purpose. Whilst the world of sustainability can be complicated,
our approach is simple and is set out in our Sustainability
Statement of Intent ‘The Time is Now’ v2.0.
The four pillars of our approach, set out below, are inextricably linked
and fundamental to our transition to a business resilient to climate change.
We must mitigate our carbon emissions as quickly as possible, whilst
ensuring that we adapt to the challenges of climate change, both in terms
of the physical risks presented by climate change and the transitional
risks inherent in transforming to a lower-carbon economy.
We know that climate change will have significant impacts on health
and wellbeing and that it will impact the disadvantaged the most.
Key to our approach, therefore, is working with our customers,
supply chain and communities to support a fairer, healthier transition.
Creating a lasting
positive social impact
in our communities
Putting health
and wellbeing
front and centre
Decarbonising
our business to
become net zero
by 2040
Integrating climate
resilience across
our business
The time
is now
39Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Sustainability continued
Continuing to evolve our approach to climate change transition
High impactLow impact
Outward impact
High impactLow impact
Financial impact
Circularity
Customer
relations
Climate change
Supply chain
engagement
Employee diversity
and inclusion
Community
engagement
Community
engagement
Employee health
and wellbeing
Industry
collaboration
Water
management
and resilience
Biodiversity
and ecosystems
Operational
portfolio water
and air pollution
Value chain
health, safety,
and wellbeing
Community
resilience and
social mobility
Value chain
modern slavery
and worker rights
Construction
activity and
impact
Employee
modern slavery
and worker rights
Leadership
and employee
engagement
Key
Focus theme
Supporting topics
– Financial impact: the impact of those same topics on GPE,
including our financial performance.
The assessment was fully supported by the Sustainability,
Finance and Legal teams, as well as members of Executive
Committee, with independent support from third party
consultants Radley Yeldar.
Key internal and external stakeholders – our customers,
investors, supply chain and local authorities – were also
interviewed to inform the scoring of material topics such
as climate change, social impact and circularity.
Whilst the review did not highlight new impacts, risks
or opportunities that we were not already aware of, it did
emphasise the importance of climate change and biodiversity
to our business, as well as providing a financial basis
for materiality. Additionally, the impact of stakeholder
relationships came through as a strong theme.
The outputs from the double materiality assessment process,
as tabled at our recent Board strategy meeting, have
since informed our updated Social Impact Strategy and
reinforced our focus on those topics rated as higher impact.
The assessment also dovetails with the Group’s principal risk
register. More detail can be found within Our Approach to Risk,
on pages 79 to 93 and on our website at www.gpe.co.uk/
sustainability/our-approach
During the year, in addition to launching our market
leading Circularity Score, we have also continued to set
out the foundations for our climate change transition plan.
Our Sustainability Statement of Intent, Roadmap to Net
Zero and Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces were
updated in previous years, providing a framework to support
us in addressing the impacts of a changing climate. We have
continued that work and carried out a double materiality
assessment, updated our physical climate risk assessment
and evolved and relaunched our Social Impact Strategy.
Double materiality
Materiality supports us in prioritising what matters most
to GPE and our stakeholders, in the context of ESG impacts,
risks and opportunities.
In 2019, we undertook our first materiality assessment following
best practice, however, approaches to assessing materiality have
evolved and improved since then. We have therefore undertaken
a double materiality assessment, which also reflects the evolution
of our much more customer focused business.
Double materiality requires us to assess sustainability-related
topics across two dimensions:
– Outward impact: GPE’s impacts on sustainability-related
topics in the wider world.
Double materiality assessment
40 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Social Impact Strategy update
During the year, we undertook a review of our Social Impact
Strategy. Since implementing our £10 million social value target
in 2020, we have created more than £4.5 million in social value
as at 31 March 2025 (see page 52 for performance in the year)
and learned much about how social value and social impact
is created and measured. We have taken these learnings,
together with our double materiality exercise and feedback
from stakeholders, and incorporated these into a full review
of our Social Impact Strategy.
Responding to the climate change challenge, and working
toward a just transition, also requires a strong Social Impact
Strategy as the most socially disadvantaged will be the
most impacted by climate change. Our new strategy doubles
down on our commitment to “create a lasting positive social
impact in our communities”, evolving from a social value-based
approach to focus on the areas where we believe we can
deliver the most meaningful change for our communities.
Our updated strategy has three core principles:
Promoting
inclusive
communities
Delivering
healthier, greener
spaces
Nurturing
strong
partnerships
We know that London is one of the world’s most diverse cities
and yet numerous barriers to social mobility remain. We must
therefore work collectively to address this and consider
how we can attract diverse talent both to our industry and
to roles in the green skills sector. Since we launched v1.0
of our Social Impact Strategy, nature has been at the centre
of our approach to social impact. In v2.0, nature remains a
key principle to support the health and wellbeing and climate
resilience of our communities, customers and supply chain.
Physical climate risk update
In 2019, we conducted physical climate risk modelling across our
existing portfolio against the various climate change scenarios
at the time. That study informed our public disclosures as well as
our approach to future-proofing our buildings and v1.0 of our
Sustainability Statement of Intent, ensuring climate resilience
was integral to our overall sustainability strategy.
Much has changed since 2019 – more common extreme weather
events, a different portfolio of assets and different global
assumptions of the impact of climate change. Therefore, as
part of our steps towards the creation of a climate transition
plan, we have updated our physical climate risk assessment.
Partnering with CBRE, utilising the Climate X platform, we
assessed our existing buildings and developments against
low, medium and high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
scenarios and across short-, medium- and long term-time
horizons. Using multiple climate data sources, including
the UK Environment Agency flood maps, our buildings were
screened against physical climate hazards including flooding,
overheating, drought and storms.
Further asset-specific investigation was undertaken,
in collaboration with our Surveying, Technical Services and
Project Management teams, to identify mitigation measures
that are already in place, as well as localised experience
of these hazards. This has allowed us to fully categorise the
risks and their potential impacts across the GPE portfolio.
We recognise there are aspects of current climate models,
such as the Urban Heat Island Effect and the impact of London
clay on subsidence risk, that are not sufficiently well developed
at present. We have taken this into account in our assessment.
A snapshot of the risk that storms bring to our portfolio,
in a low emissions scenario, over the short term, can be seen
below. The portfolio, and developments, are accurate as of
November 2024, with some buildings consolidated for simplicity.
Further details can be found in our Climate Resilience section
on pages 42 and 43 and our TCFD disclosure on pages 55 to 65
R
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Leicester
Square
Leicester
Square
Covent
Garden
Covent
Garden
Old
Street
Old
Street
HolbornHolborn
Chancery LaneChancery Lane
Piccadilly
Circus
Piccadilly
Circus
FarringdonFarringdon
Green
Park
Green
Park
Goodge
Street
Goodge
Street
Bond
Street
Bond
Street
Marble
Arch
Marble
Arch
Hyde Park
Corner
Hyde Park
Corner
Oxford
Circus
Oxford
Circus
Regent’s
Park
Regent’s
Park
Great
Portland
Street
Great
Portland
Street
Euston
Square
Euston
Square
EustonEuston
Mornington
Crescent
Mornington
Crescent
King’s Cross
St Pancras
King’s Cross
St Pancras
AngelAngel
Russell
Square
Russell
Square
BlackfriarsBlackfriars
St Paul’sSt Paul’s
BankBank
Mansion
House
Mansion
House
London
Bridge
London
Bridge
BoroughBorough
WaterlooWaterloo
Lambeth
North
Lambeth
North
SouthwarkSouthwark
WestminsterWestminster
BarbicanBarbican
MoorgateMoorgate
TempleTemple
St James’s
Park
St James’s
Park
Charing
Cross
Charing
Cross
EmbankmentEmbankment
Baker
Street
Baker
Street
Warren
Street
Warren
Street
Tottenham
Court Road
BermondseyBermondsey
Tower
Hill
Tower
Hill
Fenchurch
Street
Fenchurch
Street
Liverpool
Street
Liverpool
Street
AldgateAldgate
Aldgate EastAldgate East
WhitechapelWhitechapel
Bethnal
Green
Bethnal
Green
Shoreditch
High Street
Shoreditch
High Street
MonumentMonument
HYDE PARKHYDE PARK
GROSVENOR
SQUARE GARDEN
GROSVENOR
SQUARE GARDEN
CAVENDISH
SQUARE
CAVENDISH
SQUARE
PORTMAN
SQUARE
PORTMAN
SQUARE
HANOVER
SQUARE
HANOVER
SQUARE
RUSSELL
SQUARE
RUSSELL
SQUARE
BEDFORD
SQUARE
GARDEN
BEDFORD
SQUARE
GARDEN
LINCOLN’S
INN FIELDS
LINCOLN’S
INN FIELDS
INNER TEMPLE
GARDENS
INNER TEMPLE
GARDENS
JUBILEE
GARDENS
JUBILEE
GARDENS
BERKELEY
SQUARE
BERKELEY
SQUARE
REGENT’S PARKREGENT’S PARK
GREEN PARKGREEN PARK
ST JAMES’S
PARK
ST JAMES’S
PARK
ST JAMES’S
SQUARE
ST JAMES’S
SQUARE
SOHO
SQ
SOHO
SQ
BELGRAVE
SQUARE
GARDEN
BELGRAVE
SQUARE
GARDEN
ARCHBISHOP
PARK
ARCHBISHOP
PARK
WAPPING
GARDENS
WAPPING
GARDENS
WEAVERS
FIELDS
WEAVERS
FIELDS
MAYFAIR
COVENT
GARDEN
SOUTHBANK
SOUTHWARK
HOLBORN
BLOOMSBURY
FITZROVIA
CAMDEN
ISLINGTON
CLERKENWELL
SHOREDITCH
WHITECHAPEL
WAPPING
BETHNAL
GREEN
BARBICAN
CITY OF
LONDON
MARYLEBONE
BELGRAVIA
WESTMINSTER
2
2
2
14
3
8
2
2
3
GPE properties
Storm – medium risk areas
A representation of how the
Climate X platform measures short
term storm risk in the best case
carbon emissions scenario, RCP 2.6.
Some areas have a higher likelihood
of being subject to wind gusts
of over 150km/hr, measured over
a 72-hour period.
Storm risk and the GPE Portfolio
41Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Sustainability continued
The work undertaken in our double materiality review,
together with our physical risk assessment, is reflected
within our updated TCFD disclosure (see pages 55 to 65).
During the next financial year, we will continue to monitor
legislative developments in connection with Climate
Transition Plans, whilst remaining focused on the delivery
of our ambitious Roadmap to Net Zero v2.0 and our
updated Social Impact Strategy v2.0.
Complete our supply chain risk assessment
looking at the impact of climate change on
materials availability
The highest climate change-related risks within our supply
chain remain those associated with our development activities
and the management of mechanical and electrical services
within our buildings.
During the year, we onboarded our new mechanical and
electrical services partner across our operational portfolio.
An integral part of that process was to familiarise their
engineering team with the nuances of the GPE portfolio,
particularly with regards to the energy efficiency of our assets.
This process covered the transitional risks associated with
the maintenance of plant and equipment and our exposure
to physical climate risks such as overheating. Moving forward,
our partnership approach will improve the transparency of
building energy performance as we adapt to climate change
and make progress towards achieving the energy reduction
goals in our Roadmap to Net Zero.
Our piloting of Responsibly, an AI-enabled sustainability
due diligence provider, gave us the opportunity to further
extend engagement with our suppliers on sustainability-
related topics. The platform enabled us to review and analyse
the publicly available information and commitments of
our Top 50 suppliers by spend across a variety of indices,
including decarbonisation, biodiversity and environmental
management. We were heartened to see the level of
disclosure from a number of key suppliers and will use this
research to shape our approach to engaging with 80%
of suppliers by spend by 2027.
Complete our metering project
During the year, we completed our 18-month project to
repair and replace metering across the portfolio. The aims
of the project were to:
– improve automation of data collection processes;.
– improve granularity of energy consumption information;
– improve the information on energy consumption provided
to our customers, to support reductions in the Scope 3
emissions related to customer consumption; and
– support improved forecasting of energy consumption.
The project was partly funded by our decarbonisation fund.
Following completion of the project we are now creating
customer energy dashboards for all of our buildings to support
better conversations on energy-saving initiatives across
our portfolio. We will also be using our improved data
to update net zero carbon asset plans for our properties.
In order to become a climate change resilient
business, we are addressing transitional and physical
climate risk through building design and operation,
and supporting the resilience of our customers,
suppliers and communities.
Our commitments
Our Sustainability Statement of Intent, updated and relaunched
in May 2023, repositioned our approach to climate resilience
and is woven throughout everything we do.
To be climate resilient, we must work to mitigate our carbon
emissions and respond to changing legislation and stakeholder
expectations, whilst ensuring that we are responding to
the short-, medium- and long-term physical risks associated
with climate change.
Our approach to social impact and health and wellbeing
also support us in transitioning to become a climate change
resilient business, as when our customers, communities,
supply chain and employees thrive, our business thrives too.
Management of climate resilience
Our Sustainability Statement of Intent, Roadmap to Net Zero,
updated Social Impact Strategy and Our Brief for Creating
Sustainable Spaces, provide a framework to support us in
addressing the physical and transitional risks of climate change.
These risks may include extensive policy, legal, technology
and market changes as steps are taken locally, nationally
and globally to address mitigation of, and adaptation to,
climate change. Additionally, our framework provides strategic
direction on how we will adapt to the physical risks associated
with more frequent extreme weather events or longer-term
shifts in precipitation and temperature. A full disclosure on
the risks and opportunities connected with climate change
along with our governance arrangements can be found
within our TCFD disclosure on pages 55 to 65.
Our performance during the year
In April 2024 we set a number of priorities for the financial year.
Create a climate transition plan
The legislative position on Climate Transition Plans remains
unclear. As a consequence, we have looked to prioritise a
‘bottom-up’ approach to set out our ambitions and planned
actions for achieving a just transition. See pages 40 and 41.
By continuing to ensure that each element of our approach
to sustainability supports the climate resilience of our business,
we will be well placed to create our climate transition plan
once legislation is clarified.
We are integrating
climate resilience
across our business
42 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Integrate climate adaptation and
resilience measures across our business
Nature
During the year, we increased biodiversity net gain (BNG)
across the portfolio by 3.5% from our 2024 baseline. This was
achieved by adding trees at Woolyard, SE1 and Elm Yard, WC1.
We also undertook BNG reviews at our 31/34 Alfred Place, WC1
and 19/23 Wells Street, W1 properties, to consider potential
interventions in the coming year. Findings included the
potential to improve planting on terraces and improve habitat
development on roof spaces. Our annual target of 3% BNG is
due for review next year. Our double materiality assessment
highlighted the impact of biodiversity on our business and
we will be setting new stretching targets moving forward.
During the coming year, we will also review the application
of recently issued Taskforce on Nature-related Financial
Disclosures (TNFD) guidance to UK Commercial Real Estate.
Value chain resilience
As well as focusing on building climate resilience, our business
relies upon the resilience of our value chain. Our double
materiality review highlighted a number of key value chain
related impacts such as health, safety and wellbeing, worker
rights, supply chain engagement and community resilience,
all of which form part of our supply chain engagement
programme and Social Impact Strategy.
Looking forward
– We will continue to position our overall strategy
to meet the requirements of best practice
climate transition plans.
– We will update our biodiversity target and
consider the application of TNFD guidance.
– We will create updated net zero carbon asset plans
and resource consumption dashboards, informed
by data from our portfolio metering project.
– We will increase value chain engagement,
focusing on the impacts identified through
our double materiality review.
Circular economy case study –
Taking a more restorative approach
For a number of years, we have been retrofitting,
refurbishing and retaining buildings we own and develop,
in order to create premium commercial space in London.
Over the last year, that focus has accelerated, with a
specific emphasis on how we can utilise the principles
of the circular economy.
In November 2024, we announced our innovative approach
to circularity in the form of our Circularity Score and
targets. The score will help us, and our Project teams, to
achieve consistency in the integration of initiatives that
will not only support reductions in embodied carbon but
just as importantly, allow us to take a more restorative
approach to development. By retaining, reusing,
repurposing and remanufacturing materials, we are
aiming to avoid the use of virgin materials, whilst lowering
our embodied ecological impact and supporting the
creation of a truly circular economy.
30 Duke Street, SW1 is one of our pioneering examples.
Starting with the reuse of steel from our 2 Aldermanbury
Square, EC2 development we are driving circularity
through all elements of the building set out below.
(See page 66 for more on our approach to circularity.)
Our progress
Portfolio targeted
or rated EPC A or B
81.3%
compared to 64% in 2024 due
to our development pipeline
and upgrade programme
Embodied
carbon analysis
100%
third-party verified embodied
carbon analysis for all projects
in our Revolving Credit Facility
KPI disclosure
Increase in
biodiversity (BNG)
3.5%
exceeding our year-
on-year 3% biodiversity
net gain target
Charitable
volunteering
98
hours given by GPE staff
supporting the climate resilience
of our London communities
Steel frame 78% of the
steel frame is reclaimed
or recovered.
Precast concrete panels
almost 30% lower carbon
than industry average.
Stone 17% of Portland
stone is reclaimed directly
from the existing building.
Aluminium frame
100% recycled aluminium
window frames.
Glazing 100% of glazing
above ground floor level is
made from recycled glass.
Circularity applications
& carbon savings
Employees
Supply chain
CommunitiesCustomers
Investors
Climate
resilience
H
o
w
w
e
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e
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r
i
v
e
43Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Sustainability continued
Our steps to net zero by 2040
Reduce our embodied carbon by 52% by 2030
We are maintaining positive progress towards our updated
embodied carbon intensity target of 458kgCO
2
e/m
2
gross
internal area (GIA) by 2030. This year, we achieved an
overall reduction of 45% for both new developments and
refurbishments across the pipeline. We also completed two
Fully Managed office schemes, in SIX and 31/34 Alfred Place,
achieving 327kgCO
2
e/m
2
and 234kgCO
2
e/m
2
respectively
for whole life carbon including Cat A.
This year, we have also been reviewing key changes to industry
best practice, including changes to the Royal Institution
of Chartered Surveyors Professional Statement. This has
been updated to include more aspects of the development
lifecycle as well as clearer approaches to contingency and
cost adjustment. Three of our HQ developments are also
part of the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard Pilot.
More detail on the embodied carbon of our projects
can be found in our Sustainability Performance Tables
www.gpe.co.uk/sustainability/governance-reporting
Reduce our energy intensity by 47% by 2030
As of 31 March 2025, our energy intensity has reduced by 35%
compared to our 2016 baseline. Our target is to reach an
energy intensity of 123 kWh/m
2
by 2030 (a 47% reduction).
This trajectory aligns with the Carbon Risk Real Estate
Monitor (CRREM) pathway out to 2030.
The completion of our metering project and the rapid
digitisation of our energy data will support us in reducing
our energy intensity during the coming year. We have also
continued to deliver on our retrofit programme across the
portfolio, utilising funds raised through our Internal Carbon
Price, (now raised to £150 per tonne) where appropriate.
It is envisaged that by 2040, our energy intensity will need
to be less than 70kWh/m
2
. Substantial technological
advancements as well as customer and supply chain
engagement will be necessary to reach this target.
Our business model of repositioning poorly performing
buildings will also add to this challenge as we purchase
inefficient buildings and redevelop them to meet
evolving standards.
Engage with our value chain
The Scope 3 emissions from our value chain amount to 89% of
our carbon footprint. Whilst we have always engaged with our
supply chain and our customers on sustainability, last year we
set a target to engage with 80% of our customers by energy
consumption and 80% of our supply chain and service partners
by spend, excluding principal contractors (who we already
engage closely with on embodied carbon). To deliver upon
these commitments, our recently completed metering project
will provide real-time energy data to 100% of our customers
by 2027. This year we have also been defining a bespoke
long-term engagement plan to increase collaboration with
our customers and suppliers on sustainability. We will be
rolling the programme out during the year, focusing first
on the areas where the greatest reductions can be made
to our carbon footprint.
As we transition to a lower-carbon economy, we must
reduce the emissions from our business across all
scopes and throughout our value chain, in order for
us to become more resilient to climate change.
Our commitments
In our Roadmap to Net Zero v2.0, we updated our approach
to decarbonisation to reflect our changing business and
evolving definitions of net zero. Despite some changing global
narrative on decarbonisation and net zero, we remain fully
committed to the targets outlined in our Roadmap. We will:
– reduce our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 42% by 2030
and by 90% by 2040 to become net zero (when compared
to our 2023 baseline);
– reduce energy intensity by 47% across our occupied
portfolio by 2030 (when compared to our 2016 baseline);
– reduce our embodied carbon by 52% by 2030 across
our new build developments and major refurbishments
(when compared to our 2020 baseline);
– engage with the top 80% of our customers (by energy
consumed) and the top 80% of our supply chain partners
(by spend) by 2027;
– remove fossil fuel derived energy across our portfolio
by 2030; and
– offset, only once we have achieved a 90% reduction across
all scopes, the total residual carbon to reach net zero.
Management of decarbonisation
Climate change is the biggest long-term challenge we
face and, as the risk and need for urgent action increases,
the climate crisis is both a moral and economic imperative.
With the built environment contributing approximately
40% of global carbon emissions, our industry faces a huge
challenge as it moves to decarbonising the whole building
life cycle.
Our Roadmap to Net Zero v2.0, increased the ambition of
our short-term targets to 2030 and the interventions that will
be necessary before we reach net zero in 2040. We also set
out clearer steps to reduce our Scope 3 emissions, including
value chain targets and an approach to treatment of residual
emissions to ensure that corporate offsetting does not take
place until we have reduced our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions
by 90% as compared to our 2023 baseline.
We have aligned our approach with the current Science
Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Corporate Net-Zero Standard
and continue to review whether to seek certification of
our approach by the SBTi.
We are decarbonising
our business to become
net zero by 2040
44 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Our performance during the year
In April 2024, we set out a number of priorities for the
financial year.
Roll out our revised Roadmap to Net Zero
All teams within the business, and supply chain partners, have
been provided with presentations and training on the impact
of our updated targets. Where appropriate, these targets
have also been incorporated within our Sustainable Finance
Framework, annual bonus corporate scorecard, and
ESG-linked RCF.
Implement the findings of our energy
procurement review
During the year, we onboarded a new bureau service and
completed our metering project to improve the digitisation
of our energy management processes. This delayed the
implementation of our energy procurement review. This work
will now be completed during the forthcoming year.
We will commence our formal value chain
engagement programme
During the year, as part of our works to embed and integrate
Our Roadmap to Net Zero v2.0 into our processes, we worked
with our supply chain partners to help them understand our
new targets and incorporated them into their key performance
indicators. Additionally, a programme of engagement with
key customers is now being established; we will report back
on progress on next year.
Identify further opportunities to make
energy savings through the delivery of our
metering project
A number of savings have been identified which are already
delivering cost savings. For example, a 20% energy reduction
in some demises where meters were not calibrated correctly.
Additional sub-metering at Hanover Square has also revealed
anomalous usage, traced back to plant operation schedules.
The project has also enabled real-time fault detection,
allowing for quicker responses to irregular consumption.
We will continue to identify further energy savings in
the coming year.
Decarbonise our energy consumption
A crucial aspect of our Roadmap to Net Zero is removing
fossil fuel energy generation across our portfolio by 2030.
This year, we have completed the installation of four heat
pumps at 45 Mortimer Street, W1. This project, alongside the
removal of gas boilers at Bramah House, SE1, and Woolyard,
SE1, brings us to 29% of our portfolio, by net internal area
(NIA), being either disconnected from the gas grid or having
minimal gas usage reserved for servicing low-temperature
hot water requirements. We continue to remove fossil fuels
through our refurbishment projects and investigate how best
to decarbonise the rest of our portfolio as we work towards
our 2030 goal.
Where possible, we install self-generated renewable energy
such as photovoltaic panels, however this is often more difficult
in retrofit projects due to space restrictions. In each case, we
compare the potential energy that could be generated in the
space available during the operational phase of the building
with the embodied carbon associated with the manufacture
of the panels.
We remain committed to procuring renewable energy, However,
we recognise the lack of transparency in the Renewable Energy
Guarantees of Origin (REGO) and Renewable Gas Guarantees
of Origin (RGGO) market and so continue to work with our
energy brokers to transition to a more transparent approach.
This includes a target of reaching 60% hourly matching of
renewable energy purchased by 2030, rising to 80% by 2040.
Residual emissions strategy
Our Roadmap to Net Zero sets out our commitment
to reducing our Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 90% by 2040.
Substantial changes in how the entire industry operates are
required if we are to meet these ambitions.
Our Internal Carbon Price of £150 per tonne continues to
be invested in the decarbonisation of our business, supporting
energy efficiency projects and research into lower-carbon
alternative materials. Offsetting remains part of our strategy
at asset level and we are monitoring the outcome of the pilot
of the approach to offsetting within the UK Net Zero Carbon
Building Standard. We have also participated in the Better
Buildings Partnership’s (BBP) initiative to develop best practice
on Carbon Offset Procurement.
Looking forward
– We will further refine our digital processes to
improve granularity of energy consumption data.
– We will continue to refine our energy procurement
processes to deliver more transparency on renewable
energy procurement.
– We will increase our formal value chain engagement
on energy efficiency and sustainability more generally.
– We will complete the testing phase of the Net Zero
Carbon Building Standard for our pilot buildings.
Our progress
Energy intensity
reduction
35%
when compared
to our 2016 baseline
Embodied carbon
reduction
45%
across all developments
in 2024/25 when compared
to our 2020 baseline
Decarbonising energy
consumption
3
further buildings removed
from the national gas
network during 2024/25
Decarbonisation
Fund contribution
£2.4m
from the application of
our internal carbon price
to embodied carbon and
operational emissions
45Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Sustainability continued
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)
Total carbon footprint
Year ended 31 March
2024/25
tCO
2
e
2023/24
tCO
2
e
Scope 1 emissions
A
1,534 1,256
Scope 2 emissions (location-based)
A
2,280 2,092
Scope 3 emissions
Category 1 – Purchased goods and services 6,433 7,674
Category 2 – Capital goods 18,391 10,814
Category 3 – Fuel and energy-related activities 2,051 2,096
Category 4 – Upstream transportation and distribution 254 38
Category 5 – Waste generated (operations and development) 27 44
Category 6 – Business travel 108 59
Category 7 – Employee commuting 90 69
Category 11 – Use of sold products 391 872
Category 12 – End-of-life treatment of sold products 3 4
Category 13 – Downstream leased assets 4,599 6,090
Total Scope 3 emissions 32,347 27,760
Total Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions 36,161 31,108
A Metrics with independent limited assurance provided by PwC in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE3000).
NB Scope 3 Category 8 (upstream leased assets), 9 (downstream transportation and distribution), 10 (processing of sold products), 14 (franchises)
and category 15 (investments) are excluded from the footprint as per our Basis of Reporting due to not being applicable to the business.
Energy performance
Our total absolute energy consumption during the year was in
line with the prior year. We saw an increase in gas consumption
for shared services and electricity consumption in landlord-
controlled common parts, this was balanced out by a
9% decrease in the electricity sub-metered to customers.
The increase was driven by the timing of occupancy changes,
which we expect to normalise in the following year.
For a detailed breakdown, see page 48
This year we have been delighted to see more interaction with
our customers on the energy consumption of their spaces.
Following the completion of our metering project in January
2025, we will be using our improved data granularity to provide
real-time access to energy dashboards for our customers.
This year, our energy intensity was 153 kWh/m
2
, against
a threshold target of 152 kWh/m
2
and stretch target of
143 kWh/m
2
. These KPIs annualise our updated Roadmap
to Net Zero targets (relaunched in May 2024) and are
incorporated within our ESG-linked Revolving Credit Facility.
We have achieved good reductions against our 2016
baseline (35%) to date. However, despite some progress,
the underachievement against our targets this year highlights
the challenges of delivering energy reductions against a
backdrop of higher occupancy, increased development
activity and strong leasing momentum To address this challenge
we will be working with our supply chain partners to drive
efficiencies and, improve modelling and proactive monitoring.
Energy efficiency actions
During the reporting year, our primary focus has been
onboarding our new mechanical and electrical (M&E) supply
chain partner and new energy bureau service. Both organisations
have demonstrated a strong, collaborative approach as we
improve the digitisation of our energy management processes.
Our metering project was specifically designed to deliver
an improvement on the accuracy, scope and granularity of
our metering infrastructure. The project covered electricity,
heat, water, building management system (BMS) controls and
networks, as well as gas (where applicable) for shared services.
The specification was determined utilising best practice and
lessons learned from our implementation of the NABERS UK
energy rating scheme.
Other energy efficiency actions taken during the reporting
year include:
– deployment of heat pump technology across multiple
sites, as outlined on page 45. Early indications at these sites
have shown net annual energy savings. Reductions will
also have been impacted by seasonality and occupancy.
We will, therefore, continue to monitor efficiency over the
coming year;
– the operation of solar photovoltaic panels across multiple sites,
including Woolyard SE1, Hanover Square, W1 and 1 Newman
Street, W1, generated a combined total of 12.4Mwh over
the reporting year; and
– our recently completed building SIX St Andrew Street, EC4,
was our first to deliver on the requirements of NABERS Design
for Performance. Whilst the rating cannot be fully awarded
until the building is 75% let, through the refurbishment
process we have enabled a 4.5 star rating. Insights from
the implementation process have been shared with the
rest of our development and refurbishment pipeline.
For more detail on our performance see pages 44 and 45
Performance against our Roadmap to Net Zero
As a signatory of the BBP’s Climate Commitment, we are
required to disclose progress annually against our Roadmap
to Net Zero. Our carbon footprint and narrative on progress
during the last year are set out below.
46 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Overall performance
Our total carbon footprint (Scopes 1, 2 and 3) increased
by 16% or 5,053tCO
2
e during the year. This increase is mainly
due to our increased development activity, an increase in
business travel, and employee commuting, as well as an
increase in Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Despite these increases and a marginal rise in energy use
intensity, the embodied carbon intensities of our development
and refurbishment projects decreased toward our 2030 target.
We will continue to work to decouple our overall carbon
emissions footprint from the growth of our business during
the next financial year.
Scope 1 and 2 emissions
Our Scope 1 and 2 (location-based) emissions increased by
14% or 466tCO
2
e compared with last year. This was due to an
increase in landlord-procured electricity and gas consumption
for shared services. There was also an increase in emissions
from refrigerant losses due to servicing of the roof chillers
at Hanover Square, W1.
Indirect energy-related Scope 3 emissions
Our Scope 3 emissions from customer electricity (both sub-
metered and directly procured by customers) reduced by
1,491tCO
2
e (24%) compared with last year. This reduction was
largely due to greater visibility of our customer-procured
energy data reducing the use of estimated data for customer-
procured energy. As our customer energy use accounts for
approximately 13% of our footprint, collaboration with our
customers will be critical for us to meet our net zero carbon
ambitions. In the following reporting year, we will be rolling
out our portfolio-wide customer engagement programme.
Indirect non energy-related Scope 3 emissions
Around 89% of our carbon emissions fall outside of our
direct control. These Scope 3 emissions are created by our
customers and supply chain partners.
The 17% increase in our total Scope 3 carbon emissions for
the year was driven primarily by our development projects.
During the reporting period, not only did we complete two of our
projects (SIX St Andrew Street, EC4 and 31/34 Alfred Place, WC1),
but we also progressed with other projects, including Minerva
House, SE1, 2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2 and 30 Duke Street, SW1.
Whilst we are prioritising the integration of circular principles and
sustainability more broadly, the magnitude of these projects has
led to an increase in our emissions. Additionally, we conducted
twice the quantity of on-floor fit-outs (by floor area) than last
year to further deliver against our strategy to increase our
Flex space to our one million sq ft ambition.
This year, we conducted a new employee commuting survey to
understand the routes taken into our workplaces by our staff.
Both employee commuting and business travel increased
during the year. The former due to increased headcount
and less working from home; the latter due to increased travel
for investor meetings and a digital and technology visit to
a supply chain partner located in India.
Carbon footprint progress annual carbon emissions (tCO
2
e)
6,053
5,070
4,894
7,139
4,289
309
3,095
19,726
5,669
6,973
4,681
93
12,410
29,826
3,777
6,082
9,744
164
12,423
32,190
3,347
6,090
11,370
127
876
9,296
31,106
3,814
4,599
18,981
198
394
8,175
36,161
7,136
11,405
424
2,418
26,453
9,320
17,921
Scope 1 & 2: Owner-generated energy emissions
Scope 3: Occupier-generated energy emissions
Scope 3: Embodied carbon emissions from development activities
Scope 3: Corporate emissions
Scope 3: Other (non-energy) emissions from investment portfolio
Other emissions
Roadmap target
45,000
0
9,000
18,000
27,000
36,000
20232022202120202019 2024 2025
8,780
42,442
368
13.6k
Longer-term performance
Our Roadmap to Net Zero v2.0 sets out our ambition to reduce
Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 42% by 2030 and by 90% by 2040
from our 2023 baseline. The graph above shows our progress
to date since 2019. This demonstrates the need to monitor
performance towards net zero over the longer term, as our
normal cycle of business activity, such as our decision to sell or
develop assets, will inevitably cause fluctuations in emissions.
Our overriding aim must be to decouple the growth and
economic performance of our business from our carbon
footprint. Over the next year, we will continue to deliver
on our Roadmap v2.0 ambitions.
Further information
Our full Sustainability Performance tables, aligned with
EPRA Sustainability Best Practice Recommendations and
SASB Real Estate indicators, can be found at www.gpe.co.uk/
sustainability/governance-reporting
This includes more extensive detail on our emissions and our
Basis of Reporting.
47Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our SECR disclosure presents our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across Scope 1, 2 and select 3 metrics and associated
energy use, together with an appropriate intensity metric, as required by the Large and Medium-Sized Companies and Groups
(Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 (as amended). Our complete Scope 3 disclosure can be found on page 46.
Energy consumption
Year ended 31 March Unit 2024/25 2023/24
YoY
% change
Energy
consumption
1,2
Gas used for shared services in managed portfolio (kWh) 6,835,945 6,514,198 5%
Landlord-purchased electricity used in common parts
areas for the managed portfolio
(kWh) 11,013,065 10,103,847 11%
Landlord procured electricity sub-metered to customers (kWh) 16,037,906 17,662,321 -9%
Total absolute energy use (kWh) 33,886,916 34,280,366 0%
Absolute energy
intensity
4
Landlord-purchased energy used for common parts areas
and electricity sub-metered to customers (Scope 1, 2 and 3)
across the portfolio divided by normalised floor area
(kWh/m
2
)
153 150 3%
GHG emissions
Absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions Unit 2024/25 2023/24
YoY
% change
Scope 1
emissions
Emissions from the combustion of fuel:
gas used for shared services in managed portfolio (tCO
2
e) 1,250
A
1,192 5%
Emissions from operations of facilities:
fugitive emissions from refrigerant losses (tCO
2
e) 284
A
63 348%
Total Scope 1 emissions (tCO
2
e) 1,534
A
1,255 22%
Scope 2
emissions
Emission from the purchase of electricity used in common
parts areas for the managed portfolio (location-based) (tCO
2
e) 2,280
A
2,092 9%
Emission from the purchase of electricity used in common
parts areas for the managed portfolio (market-based)
2
(tCO
2
e) 0
A
0 0%
Total Scope 2 emissions (tCO
2
e) 2,280
A
2,092 9%
Total Scope 1 and 2 emissions (location-based) (tCO
2
e) 3,814
A
3,347 14%
Total Scope 1 and 2 emissions (market-based) (tCO
2
e) 1,534
A
1,255 22%
Emissions intensity Scope 1 and 2 (location-based) (tCO
2
e/m
2
) 0.0605
A
0.0516 17%
Scope 3
emissions
Category 13: Emissions from landlord-purchased
electricity sub-metered to customers (tCO
2
e) 3,321
A
3,657 -9%
Total energy-related Scope 1 (incl. fugitive emissions
from refrigerant losses), 2 and select Scope 3 emissions (tCO
2
e) 7,135 7,004 2%
Absolute
emissions
intensity
3
Emissions from landlord-purchased energy used for
common parts areas and electricity sub-metered
to customers (Scope 1, 2 and 3) across the portfolio
divided by normalised floor area (tCO
2
e/m
2
) 0.0309
A
0.0303 2%
A Metrics with independent limited assurance provided by PwC in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE3000).
1. As a business 100% focused on central London, all energy is consumed in the UK.
2. 100% of purchased electricity is REGO-backed and 100% of purchased gas is biogas or carbon offset gas. More detail can be found in our Basis of Reporting.
3. The intensity metrics include energy-related building emissions (location-based), excluding customer-procured energy. Floor area is an appropriate
intensity metric as it directly relates to our business activities.
Sustainability continued
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) continued
Our methodology
Emissions are calculated using the UK Government’s
Environmental Reporting Guidelines and the Greenhouse Gas
Protocol. We have used the operational control approach for
consolidating our GHG emissions; this includes emissions and
energy usage from our managed properties (including 100% of
emissions from joint venture properties) and head office usage.
Where we have purchased electricity, which is sub-metered
to customers, this is itemised separately under our Scope 3
emissions, but is included within our energy intensity target.
Our full Sustainability Performance tables, including more
extensive reporting on our emissions aligned with EPRA
Sustainability Best Practice Recommendations and SASB
Real Estate indicators, can be found at www.gpe.co.uk/
sustainability/governance-reporting.
Independent limited assurance
PwC LLP has provided independent limited assurance over the
published metrics identified by ‘A’ in the SECR, and supporting
performance tables, in accordance with the International
Standard on Assurance Engagements ISAE3000 and ISAE3410.
PwC’s full unqualified Assurance Statement, together
with our Basis of Reporting, can be found on our website at
www.gpe.co.uk/sustainability/governance-reporting
ESG-linked Revolving Credit Facility (RCF)
Our updated Roadmap to Net Zero includes more ambitious
short-term targets. We have aligned our RCF requirements,
in partnership with our lenders, to these new ambitions.
The table opposite outlines our performance against the
final year of the existing RCF targets.
48 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
KPI 1
Reduction in energy consumption
KPI 2
Reduction in carbon impact
KPI 3
Increase in biodiversity
In line with our 47% reduction in energy
intensity by 2030 target, set out in
Our Roadmap to Net Zero v2.0, our RCF
KPI requires a reduction of our portfolio
energy intensity annually when compared
with our 2016 baseline of 234kWh/m
2
.
This target applies to energy consumed
within our portfolio and to all energy
purchased by GPE, including electricity
sub-metered to our customers.
In line with our 52% reduction in the
embodied carbon intensity by 2030
target, set out in Our Roadmap to Net
Zero v2.0, our RCF KPI requires a reduction
of the embodied carbon intensity of
our developments when compared with
our 2020 baseline of 954kgCO
2
e/m
2
.
This target is third-party verified during
design phases and at practical completion.
Reviews are undertaken in line with the
most recent RICS professional statement.
We are committed to delivering an
increase in biodiversity net gain across
our buildings. Our KPI requires us to
achieve at least a 3% uplift in biodiversity
net gain each year on a like-for-like basis.
This target is reviewed in line with the
most recent BNG Statutory Metric.
Target
For March 2025, the RCF target
was an energy intensity of less
than 148kWh/m², a reduction
of 37% when compared with
our 2016 baseline.
Target
For March 2025, the RCF target
was an embodied carbon intensity
of less than 655kgCO
2
e/m
2
for
developments in progress, and
760kgCO
2
e/m
2
for those that
completed in the reporting year.
Target
For March 2025, we targeted
a 3% increase in biodiversity
net gain across our existing
portfolio on a like-for-like basis.
Achievement
We achieved an energy intensity
of 153 kWh/m², a reduction of 35%
when compared with our 2016 baseline.
However, we did not meet the 2024/25
intensity target. This was due to
increased gas consumption, onboarding
of new energy-related service partners
and completing our metering project.
Challenges in finalising these activities
did not deliver the required annual
energy reductions. We expect this
to be remedied for 2025/26.
Achievement
We achieved an average embodied carbon
intensity, for five developments in progress,
of 558kgCO
2
e/m
2
, and 284kgCO
2
e/m
2
for those that completed in the reporting
year, being SIX St Andrew Street and
31/34 Alfred Place.
When averaged across all developments
that fall within the RCF reporting requirements,
this equates to 525kgCO
2
e/m
2
or a 45%
reduction when compared with our
2020 baseline.
Achievement
We achieved a 3.5% uplift in
biodiversity net gain across
our portfolio.
This increase was driven by
the addition of multiple trees
at Woolyard, SE1 and at
Elm Yard, WC1.
Three long-term sustainability KPIs are integrated into our ESG-linked RCF.
EPC ratings: percentage of portfolio floor area
B ECA
0
60
GFD
50
40
30
20
10
Current managed portfolio (A) Current FRI (A)
Targeted under development
19.4
0.2
4.3
1.2
0.8
0.8
0.1
Uncertified
6.8
0.1
27.6
8.7
18.7
11
0.3
0
0
(A) Metrics with independent limited assurance provided by PwC
in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance
Engagements (ISAE3000).
* Targeted EPCs were excluded from the PwC assurance scope.
Energy Performance Certification
Our portfolio remains fully compliant with 2023 EPC legislation,
with no F or G rated space. We also continue to monitor future
changes to compliance and any risk associated with meeting
those performance requirements. With around 7% of our
portfolio below an EPC C, we are in a strong position.
During the year, our managed and full repairing and insuring
(FRI) properties that are EPC A or B rated rose from 42% to
slightly over 43%, while increases in development activity led
to an increase in our targeted A or B space to 38%, up from
24% last year.
Our business plan remains to acquire poorly performing assets,
such as our Soho Square Estate, W1, (EPC D/E/U) and reposition
them to high-quality, sustainable space. Improving the EPC
ratings of new and existing assets is integral to that approach.
Recognising that EPCs only demonstrate potential energy
efficiency, see pages 44 to 47 for details on our operational
performance.
Further details on all KPIs can be found in
our Sustainability Performance Tables
at www.gpe.co.uk/sustainability/
governance-reporting
49Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Sustainability continued
Our performance during the year
In April 2024 we set a number of priorities for the financial year.
Delivering wellbeing through the design
and operation of our spaces
This year, we delivered one of our of flagship Flex spaces at
SIX St Andrew Street EC4. The new development has been
designed and built with sustainability at the centre, incorporating
a number of health and wellbeing innovations.
The project underwent a Fitwel gap analysis to see how health
and wellbeing outcomes could be improved within the confines
of the existing building. Customers now have a fantastic roof
terrace, providing outside space as well as connection to nature
through planting and a green wall. Each of the floors contains
high levels of biophilia throughout, in addition to a wellness
studio on the lower ground floor.
SIX St Andrew Street is now the benchmark for our Flex spaces
with regards to the successful integration of health and wellbeing.
We have used the lessons learned from the project within our Flex
Design Guidelines to promote a consistent approach to thermal
comfort, acoustics, lighting and amenity space. These and
other best practice measures have also been incorporated at
our recently completed refurbishments at 31/34 Alfred Place,
W1, and Kent House, W1, where terracing and connections
to nature through biophilia have played a key part in design.
Ensuring improved air quality across
our portfolio and communities
At our Minerva House, SE1 development, our Thames River
barge servicing strategy allowed us to reduce the impact of
the development on local air quality by decreasing logistics
movements during the deconstruction stage by 65%.
We believe it is the first private development on the River
Thames to utilise a barge to remove materials from site.
Collaborating on the health and wellbeing
of our customers, employees and partners
We recognise that we have a significant role to play in facilitating,
encouraging and collaborating with our value chain to deliver
a strong approach to health and wellbeing. To ensure that we
lead by example, our own Employee Impact Groups have been
rebranded this year, with our GPE POWER group focusing on
promoting overall wellbeing, energy and resilience.
This approach extends into our value chain. At our 30 Duke Street,
W1, development our delivery partners, Mace and John F Hunt,
marked Mind’s Time to Talk Day in February 2025. The team
delivered a toolbox talk on open and supportive communication.
They also fundraised for Mates in Mind, a charity focused on
sectors, such as construction, to create working cultures that
promote mental health awareness.
A sustainable building should contribute to
the wellbeing of our customers and the local
community, supporting healthier, happier
and more productive lives.
Our commitments
Health and wellbeing is inextricably linked with the other
three pillars of our Sustainability Statement of Intent.
We know that the provision of outdoor spaces, access
to nature and clean air positively impact the health and
wellbeing of our customers, employees, service partners
and local communities.
Health and wellbeing is therefore an intrinsic part of our
sustainability strategy, particularly in connection with
the design and operation of our spaces.
Management of health and wellbeing
We consider the integration of health and wellbeing principles
in design from the outset of all projects, irrespective of the
size and scale of the project. From our large HQs, all the
way through to our on-floor fit-outs, health and wellbeing
is a key part of our offer.
To ensure a consistent and effective approach to health
and wellbeing, we continue to ensure Our Brief for Creating
Sustainable Spaces, which includes key wellbeing deliverables,
is embedded from the early stages of project conception.
Best practice interventions, in line with independent
wellbeing certifications such as the WELL Building Standard
and the Fitwel rating, are applied at a building-by-building
level. At Minerva House, SE1, where we are targeting WELL
Core Platinum, the design of the communal terrace space
with extensive planting and opportunities for socialising
have followed the Air, Movement and Community principles
of the certification. We also ensure that these principles
are embedded within our operational processes once the
building reaches practical completion and is handed over
to our Customer Experience teams.
We are putting
health and wellbeing
front and centre
Looking forward
– We will focus on delivery of healthier, greener spaces
through the roll-out of our updated Social Impact
Strategy v2.0.
– We will review the value add from wellbeing certifications
and integrate principles into our minimum standards
through our Flex Design Guidelines.
– We will drive health and wellbeing as priorities for
our value chain, particularly through our Supplier
Engagement Programme.
Our progress
Net Promoter
Interviews
133
interviews conducted to
gather customer feedback,
including on the sustainability
of spaces
Donations to health
and wellbeing charities
£22.2k
funds raised and donations
made to charities focused on
physical and mental health,
wellbeing and resilience
50 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
We are committed to creating and maintaining safe,
healthy and secure environments for our communities,
employees and partners. Striving to set the highest
standards in health and safety within the industry,
we are dedicated to continuously improving our
practices and procedures.
Our health and safety performance is closely monitored across
our portfolio through a series of KPIs. These metrics allow us to
track progress, identify areas for improvement, and measure
our performance in critical areas such as data granularity
and system efficiency. This year, we introduced two new KPIs
linked to the outcomes of our health and safety audit scores,
further strengthening our ability to monitor and enhance
safety standards.
Our proactive approach includes regular audits, ongoing
training for employees and direct service partners, and a strong
focus on fire safety management in compliance with current
legislation. We are unwavering in our commitment to proactive
health and safety measures, inclusive practices and compliance
with evolving legislation.
During the year, we conducted an in-depth training needs
analysis to ensure our health and safety training remains
aligned with evolving operational needs and industry standards.
This analysis built upon an earlier comprehensive review,
which led to the establishment of a dedicated training budget
to address identified gaps, supported by ongoing reviews
to ensure continued relevance.
We remain focused on fire safety management, particularly
within our residential buildings, ensuring compliance with
the Building Safety Act 2022. Over the past year, we have
completed the first draft of the building safety case reports
for our two high-rise residential buildings.
Looking forward, we will continue to prioritise the safety
and wellbeing of everyone within our properties. To enhance
our oversight, we established a new health and safety audit
programme, managed by our internal team, which we have
already begun implementing. This updated programme
incorporates more comprehensive reviews and a more
frequent review schedule to ensure we stay ahead of
Providing safe,
healthy and secure
environments
Looking forward
– Reinforce our commitment to safety standards
through our ongoing health and safety audit
programme and leadership tours.
– Introduce a new contractor management system to
align with safety protocols and streamline operations.
– Undertake a thorough review of our existing
health and safety policies and procedures.
Our progress
Disability
Confident
Level 3
Maintained highest level of
the UK Government scheme,
championing equity, equality
and diversity
Leadership safety
tours
100%
All Executive Committee and
Directors have a completed a
health and safety leadership tour
at our properties, demonstrating
a commitment to visible
leadership
emerging risks and regulatory changes. It is complemented
by ongoing leadership tours, which reinforce our commitment
to maintaining the highest safety standards. Additionally,
we are implementing a new contractor management system
to improve operational efficiency and ensure better alignment
with safety protocols. As part of our ongoing improvement
efforts, we plan to further review our health and safety policies
and procedures in the coming year to ensure they remain aligned
with the latest industry standards and regulatory requirements.
Health and safety accidents by year
Where accidents occur, our goal is to provide assistance and foster
collaboration within our supply chain. This collaboration aims
to enhance our understanding and capitalise on opportunities
for improvement. By doing so, we can proactively mitigate
future risks and uphold a culture that prioritises the wellbeing
of all workers, free from blame. This year, improved incident
reporting, and greater awareness, have led to an increase in the
reporting of portfolio and development work-related injuries.
Health and safety statistics
2024/25 2023/24 2022/23
Enforcement notices or fines received 0 0 0
Direct employees
Work-related fatalities rate (A) 0 0 0
Reportable injury rate (A) 0 0 0
Lost day rate (A) 0 0 0
Injury rate (A) 0.686 0 0
Absentee rate (A) 0.005 0.005 0.006
Our managed portfolio
Work-related fatalities* 0 0 0
Reportable injuries* 2 1 1
Work-related injuries* 9 3 2
Work-related fatalities rate (A) 0 n/a n/a
Reportable injury rate (A) 0.399 n/a n/a
Injury rate (A) 1.794 n/a n/a
Our development activities
Work-related fatalities* 0 0 0
Reportable injuries* 1 1 0
Work-related injuries* 4 2 0
Work-related fatalities rate (A) 0 n/a n/a
Reportable injury rate (A) 0.045 n/a n/a
Injury rate (A) 0.181 n/a n/a
(A) Metrics with independent limited assurance provided by PwC in accordance
with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE 3000).
* For completeness we have reported against last years’ statistics, however,
going forward we will only be reporting against the new KPIs, as per our
scope of assurance this year. Further detail can be found in our Basis of
Reporting at www.gpe.co.uk/sustainability/governance-reporting
51Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Social value created
2024/25 2023/24 2022/23 2021/22
Total social
value created £603,000 £1,494,000 £1,157,000 £631,000
Direct GPE
contributions
(cash) £182,000 £238,000 £486,000 £215,000
Additional
social value
created £421,000 £1,256,000 £671,000 £416,000
Our performance during the year
In April 2024 we set out a number of priorities for the
financial year:
To implement a biodiversity offsetting strategy by
partnering with local business improvement districts
(BIDs) and local nature-focused charities
In 2020, we incorporated a biodiversity KPI within our ESG-
linked RCF which requires a 3% uplift in biodiversity net gain
across our existing buildings. This is much easier to achieve at
our properties where we have more extensive outside spaces,
but can be difficult at smaller existing buildings where roofs
may need to be strengthened and there may not be terraces
for planters. In these cases, it is more impactful to invest in
biodiversity in existing community gardens and parks. We have
now established a process to address this, such that where
it is not possible to incorporate biodiversity into our own
developments or retrofits, we will offset by investing in off-site
interventions through our local BIDs and existing relationships
with charities supporting nature and biodiversity.
To review the Social Impact Strategy in its entirety to
ensure that it is still relevant to our changing business
Our review was undertaken in the context of doubling down
on our commitment to “create a lasting positive social impact
in our communities” and found that:
– some actions from v1.0 could be delivered as one-off
initiatives without a focus on lasting impact;
– our original strategy was difficult to adapt as our business
pivoted to our more customer-focused approach; and
– the pillars and lenses of v1.0 were complex to communicate
to our employees and supply chain partners.
Our updated strategy is therefore simpler and impact focused,
rather than being social value driven. See page 41 for
further details.
To review the appropriateness of our £10 million social value
goal and whether a monetary target is still the right approach
During the review of our Social Impact Strategy, we found that
outputs with a high social value may not have a lasting positive
social impact for our local communities. For example, the
donation of space to a charity creates a significant amount of
social value for GPE and is highly impactful for the charity
but may not support the local community. Our review
therefore found that we should continue to measure social
value and report our progress against our original £10 million
target. However, we should shift our focus from social value
to measurable outcomes from our social impact efforts.
We know that the socially disadvantaged members
of our communities will be most impacted by
climate change. We are therefore committed
to supporting the people and communities with
whom we work to have a better quality of life,
whilst also enabling a fairer future for London.
Our commitments
Our recently published Social Impact Strategy v2.0 sets out
how we will deliver our vision of creating a lasting positive
social impact in our communities. We have identified three
main principles for our updated approach that will support
us as we deliver more equitable outcomes across London.
Promoting
inclusive
communities
Delivering
healthier, greener
spaces
Nurturing
strong
partnerships
Management of social impact
Progress against the commitments in our strategy is overseen
by the Social Impact Committee and is reported periodically
to the Executive Committee and to the Board.
Our newly defined series of metrics sets out our approach
for measuring our impact in line with our updated, outcome-
focused approach. However, we are aware that social value
can be a useful indicator and we will continue to measure our
progress towards our original target to create £10million social
value by 2030, using the National Social Value Framework
(National TOMS framework). The framework allocates a proxy
value for time spent or pound invested and is one of the most
widely used methods for the measurement of social value,
including by government, local authorities and businesses.
Since the launch of this target in 2020, we have created
£4.5 million of social value.
The majority of our cash donations are made to our charity
partners. For the year ended 31 March 2025, our charity
partners were XLP, National Energy Action, Young Westminster
Foundation and Bankside Open Spaces Trust. We also focus
our procurement spend on local businesses and social
enterprises wherever possible to help build their customer
base and access new audiences within our buildings.
During the year, the amount of social value created fell due
to the lack of space available let to charities.
Sustainability continued
We are creating a lasting
positive social impact
in our communities
52 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
support was provided to XLP by our partners Faithdean and
8Build, who collectively installed double-glazing and carried
out air conditioning repairs at XLP hubs.
Our new M&E supply chain partner, BGIS, were onboarded
during the year and we worked together to create social impact
key performance indicators for the partnership, including
number of apprentices, use of small businesses, volunteering
hours and payment of the London Living Wage.
Through the year, we have utilised our partnership with goodnus
to ensure that our food and beverage procurement at our Fully
Managed buildings focuses on products and businesses that
apply sustainable and ethical practices. This has helped us
to prioritise the use of products from suppliers who are Social
Enterprises, Fairtrade businesses, B Corps as well as businesses
prioritising palm oil-free, vegan and locally sourced products.
Customers
Our Customer Experience team use space activations and
community events to champion our approach to Social Impact.
During the last financial year, we continued to use social
enterprises such as Luminary Bakery and SEND Coffee for
customer events. Additionally we worked with our customers
to celebrate Black History Month and International Women’s
Day across our portfolio,
Communities
Where possible, we take opportunities to welcome communities
into our buildings. At The Hickman, E1, we welcomed members
of deafPLUS into our cafe space to meet and share experiences
and seek support. As a thank you, they also taught our on-site
team some sign language.
Through our partnership with National Energy Action,
we continued to support their ‘Warm Welcome’ in London
programme. The programme supported 413 people struggling
to pay their energy bills.
Employees
We continued our Early Careers Programme, hiring two Customer
Experience apprentices and hosting two interns through our
partnership with 10,000 Black Interns. All interns were paid at
least the London Living Wage. Additionally, our team reached 28
young people through career workshops. See our Social Impact
Strategy at www.gpe.co.uk/sustainability for more details.
Our social impact achievements during the year
Case study – Community Week 2024
In October 2024, we held our annual Community week.
More than 100 of the GPE team took part in volunteering
activities across London including:
– various activities to support our charity partner XLP, from
cleaning their buses (youth hubs), to facilitating a careers
insight day, making improvements to their Stratford hub
and supporting a music activity with their young people;
– holding a football tournament with a selection of our
service partners which raised £8,000 for XLP;
– packing 500 ‘warm welcome packs’ to support people
who may be suffering from fuel poverty through the
winter months, in partnership with our charity partner,
National Energy Action;
– working with Bankside Open Spaces Trust to undertake
maintenance to green spaces in Southwark and Lambeth;
– working at Coram’s Fields in Camden to help with park
maintenance and changing room renovation; and,
– supporting the team at Brixton soup kitchen to cook,
sort donations to their clothes bank and raise funds.
634 hours of volunteering were donated by the GPE team
during the Community Week, with an additional £1,254
of pro bono support from our supply chain partners.
Engaging with our stakeholders
We engage with our suppliers, customers and employees
on social impact across our HQ and Fully Managed buildings.
Supply chain partners
Working with Bovis, we hosted a charity golf day for our charity
partner XLP. The event raised £51,000. Additionally, pro-bono
Looking forward
– We will implement our updated Social Impact
Strategy by setting baselines, initiating new
activities and embedding the new approach
across our business and supply chain.
– We will work more collaboratively with our
customers and supply chain on social impact
initiatives to amplify our impact.
– We will report against our updated Social
Impact Strategy outcomes for the first time.
Our progress
Social value created
during the year
£603k
GPE created social value
(not including service
partner contributions)
Weeks of internships
provided
14
through 10,000 Black
Interns Programme
Hours donated to
charity partner, XLP
260
donated by GPE employees
(target: 240 hours)
Spend with social
enterprises
£128k
direct annual spend with
voluntary, community and
social enterprises (VCSE)
53Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Sustainability continued
Our sustainable finance framework in action
Since publishing our first Sustainable Finance Framework
in 2021, our sustainability approach has evolved, the
International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has
produced updated guidance and the UK Government
has published its Green Finance Strategy.
Furthermore, given attractive pricing, in September 2024,
we issued our first sterling unsecured sustainable bond to fund
the development of our best-in-class schemes and support
our pathway to becoming net zero by 2040.
To enable that issuance we updated our Sustainable Finance
Framework in the reporting year. More detail can be found here:
https://www.gpe.co.uk/media/lckjrrvx/gpe-sustainable-
finance-framework-report-2024.pdf
In updating the Framework, we broadened our approach
to allow us to have a greater impact and be able to allocate
funds across all pillars of our Sustainability Statement of Intent.
These updated eligibility criteria are also closely aligned with
Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces, Roadmap to Net Zero
and Social Impact Strategy. Working with our partners to verify
the credibility of the Framework, we have ensured that the
management of these funds is effective and our Sustainable
Finance Committee will oversee the use of proceeds raised
through these means.
As part of our commitment to communicating with transparency
and honesty, our Sustainable Finance Committee will provide
impact reporting in respect of all debt instruments issued
under the Framework.
This will be issued on an annual basis, where required, to provide
our stakeholders with a clear view of our sustainability-related
successes, challenges, risks and opportunities. In line with the
requirements set out in our Framework, we intend to release
an ‘Allocation and Impact’ report on an annual basis until
full allocation has been achieved.
Eligible project – Minerva House, SE1
Eligible project – 2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2
ICMA/LMA Project Category
– Green Buildings.
– Energy Efficiency.
– Renewable Energy.
– Access to Essential Services.
Alignment with GPE
Statement of Intent
ICMA/LMA Project Category
– Green Buildings.
– Energy Efficiency.
– Renewable Energy.
– Access to Essential Services.
Alignment with GPE
Statement of Intent
KPI Reporting Metrics and Targets
– BREEAM Outstanding.
– NABERS 5*.
– WELL Core Enabled.
– EPC A.
– On-site Renewables.
– Increase in Biodiversity Net Gain
and Urban Greening Factor.
– Public realm creation.
– Affordable workspace provision.
KPI Reporting Metrics and Targets
– BREEAM Outstanding.
– NABERS 5*.
– WELL Core Enabled.
– EPC A.
– On-site Renewables.
– Increase in Biodiversity Net Gain
and Urban Greening Factor.
– Public realm creation.
54 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Great Portland Estates plc has, at the time of publication,
complied with the requirements of LR 6.6.6(8)R by including
climate-related financial disclosures consistent with the
TCFD Recommendations and Recommended Disclosures.
Consideration has also been given to the all sector guidance
updated in 2021 with regards to Strategy: a) and b), and
Metrics and Targets: a).
Additional supporting information can be found on
pages 08 to 11, page 48 in our SECR table (performance)
and pages 79 to 93 (Our approach to risk). For further
complementary information, see www.gpe.co.uk/
sustainability/governance-reporting
Governance
Board oversight of climate-related risks
and opportunities
The Board typically meet six times annually and have ultimate
responsibility for oversight of climate and sustainability risks
and opportunities with a particular focus on the impact to
our business strategy. During the year:
– the Board reviewed the definitive appraisal for the Minerva
House and 200 Gray’s Inn Road developments including
embodied carbon impact, energy efficiency and circularity
and projected payments to the Decarbonisation Fund;
– the Board approved the acquisition of One Chapel Place,
W1 which included a review of the implications for our net
zero commitments;
– the Board approved the update to our Social Impact
Strategy, which clearly outlines the crossover between
climate resilience, mitigation and social impact;
– the Audit Committee reviewed findings from the
ESG data assurance process and outcomes from IT:
Application Governance internal audit, which included
procurement of sustainability systems; and
– the Remuneration Committee approved updated
ESG-linked KPIs for the corporate bonus scorecard.
As climate change is considered a principal risk for the Group, at
the half year and year end, as part of our robust risk assessment
review, the Executive Committee, Audit Committee and Board
review and assess the impact on the business of climate-related
risks. This process involves consideration of the risks, internal
controls, emerging risks and ongoing monitoring and mitigation
of risks. Opportunities connected with market transition are
also considered.
Examples of risks discussed include:
– the findings from our double materiality and physical
risk assessments;
– potential changes to energy performance legislation
and planning requirements;
– maturity of the supply chain in connection with the
circular economy and costs and availability of materials;
and
– impact of geopolitics and international trade arrangements
on current sustainability reporting requirements.
Opportunities included the creation of our Circularity Score,
continued innovations at 30 Duke Street, W1 in connection
with the circular economy and the removal of gas-fired
central heating and hot water from a number of assets.
Management’s role in assessing and managing
climate-related risks and opportunities
Climate-related risks and opportunities are brought to the
attention of the Board by the Chief Executive and Sustainability
and Social Impact Director. Where our valuation or development
projects are impacted by climate-related risks, these are reported
separately within our Executive Director’s reports to the Board.
Regular updates are also provided to our Executive Committee.
During the year this has included a strategic review of our
approach to the Circular Economy, the approval of a press
release on our Circularity Score and the adoption of our
internal Sustainability Implementation Plan for the next three
years to deliver on our Sustainability Statement of Intent,
Roadmap to Net Zero and Social Impact Strategy. More detail
on our governance structure can be found on page 56 of
this report.
The Sustainability and Social Impact Director, a member
of Executive Committee, together with our in-house
Sustainability team, manages the strategic direction and
operational management of sustainability-related issues.
In addition, there are clear departmental responsibilities
for sustainability including:
– Joint Director of Finance – oversight of the ESG-linked Revolving
Credit Facility (RCF) and Sustainable Finance Framework;
– Development Director and Director of Projects – integration
of sustainability across all projects, irrespective of scope;
asset energy efficiency and the implementation of energy
efficiency measures; and
– The Sustainability and Social Impact Director and Executive
Director oversee the allocation of Decarbonisation
Fund to retrofit projects. The Executive Director ensures
that climate risk is considered in acquisitions and the
repositioning of potentially stranded assets; this includes
monitoring and managing the business response to
expected legislative changes.
Our strategy
We identify and acquire unloved properties, reposition
them through lease restructuring, delivery of flexible space,
refurbishment or redevelopment and then manage for income
or recycle them. The buildings we develop can be in use for
up to 60 years; we therefore consider the whole building life
cycle when reviewing climate-related risks and opportunities.
Engagement with our stakeholders is fundamental to
the success of our strategy and understanding their needs
on sustainability is fundamental to success. This includes the
provision of assets that are not at risk of stranding due to their
energy and carbon efficiency and that are resilient to the
physical impacts of climate change, be that overheating, flash
flooding or other extreme weather events. We also recognise
the importance placed on transparency of reporting from
our investors. The above factors support the attractiveness
of our buildings to our customers and investors.
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
55Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Sustainability continued
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) continued
Our robust governance structure ensures that appropriate oversight is given to sustainability –
a strategic imperative for GPE
Oversight starts with our Board, typically meeting six times
per year, with regular sustainability updates provided by our
Chief Executive and Sustainability and Social Impact Director.
In addition, the Board receives an update on progress towards
our sustainability strategy as part of the Chief Executive’s
report at each Board meeting. Three of our Board Committees
oversee aspects of sustainability-related governance.
As a member of Executive Committee, our Sustainability and
Social Impact Director is involved in all key asset-related
decisions such as acquisitions, development appraisals,
lettings and disposals. Furthermore, the Sustainability
Committee provides a forum for management to discuss
risks and opportunities and potential blockers to progress,
while Operational Committees work to pre-empt potential
challenges that may slow our progress. Our Committees
ensure wide-scale involvement at all levels of the business,
supporting a collaborative approach to sustainability.
More details can be found in the Corporate Governance
Report on page 102.
Development Sustainability
Sub-committee
Co-Chairs: Martin Quinn & Frank Blande
Sustainable Finance
Committee
Chair: Nick Sanderson
Management Committees
Portfolio Sustainability
Sub-committee
Chair: Kayla McKenzie
Executive Committee
Chair: Toby Courtauld
Sustainability Committee
Chair: Toby Courtauld
Nomination Committee
Chair: Richard Mully
The key objectives of the Nomination
Committee, which meets five times per
year, are to regularly review the skills and
experience of the Board to ensure that it is
the right size, structure and composition,
taking into account the skills, experience,
independence, knowledge and diversity of
Directors and the future strategy of the Group.
Consideration of these attributes in relation
to climate resilience and decarbonisation
is an important part of this process.
Our Development Sustainability
Sub-committee reports quarterly to the
Sustainability Committee and provides
operational oversight on climate-related
risks and opportunities within the development
pipeline. The key areas of focus are
embodied carbon, delivery of the circular
economy and integration of nature-based
solutions to support both biodiversity
net gain and climate resilience.
The Chief Executive chairs the
Executive Committee which meets on a
fortnightly basis. Key stakeholders, including
Finance, Legal, Leasing, Development,
Human Resources, Portfolio Management,
Flex, Customer Experience and Sustainability,
meet regularly to review key strategic
and operational decisions to be made by
the business. This includes development
appraisals outlining embodied carbon and
energy intensity benchmarks, significant
procurement decisions outlining the resilience
of our value chain and sustainability strategy.
Audit Committee
Chair: Vicky Jarman
The key objectives for the Audit Committee,
which meets four times per year, are to
report to the Board and shareholders on
the Group’s financial reporting, internal
control and risk management systems, and
on the independence and effectiveness of
the external auditor. Assurance processes
and internal audit processes connected with
sustainability and ESG KPIs are captured
within the remit of the Audit Committee.
Our Portfolio Sustainability Sub-committee
reports quarterly to the Sustainability
Committee and provides operational oversight
on climate-related risks and opportunities
within the standing portfolio. The key area
of focus is energy use intensity, stranding
of assets, both from a carbon and energy
perspective, and integration of nature-based
solutions to support both biodiversity net
gain and climate resilience.
Remuneration Committee
Chair: Emma Woods
The Remuneration Committee is responsible for
determining the remuneration of the Executive
Directors and the Chair of the Board, the
members of the Executive Committee and
other senior executives. Meeting five times
a year, the Committee also reviews the broad
operation of remuneration policy and practices
for all employees. The bonus scorecard includes
KPIs on achieving net zero carbon at our
developments and reducing energy intensity.
The Sustainable Finance Committee was formed
to manage the Sustainable Finance Framework
and all sustainable debt instruments issued
under the Framework. During the reporting year,
we issued our first sustainable bond alongside
an update to our Sustainable Finance Framework.
The Committee was responsible for agreeing
the approach to these updates as well as the
approach to reporting going forward into
2025/26.
The Chief Executive chairs the quarterly
Sustainability Committee meeting, also
attended by the Chief Financial & Operating
Officer, Executive Director, Development
Director, Customer Experience and Flex
Director, Sustainability and Social Impact
Director and key department heads.
This Committee provides strategic oversight on
climate risk and resilience, reviews the progress
and evolution of the sustainability strategy and
monitors performance against our targets.
Outcomes from this Committee are brought to
the attention of the Board by the Chief Executive
and the Sustainability and Social Impact Director.
Board Committees
Strategic Operational Sustainability
Social Impact Committee
Chair: Nick Sanderson
The Chief Financial Operating Officer chairs
the Social Impact Committee which meets
on a quarterly basis and reports to the
Executive Committee every six months.
The Committee has oversight of the social,
community and charitable endeavours of
the business in line with the Social Impact
Strategy. Representatives from HR, Marketing,
Portfolio Management and Development
teams attend to ensure collaboration and
transparency across the organisation in
relation to social initiatives, charitable
donations and allocation of budget.
56 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Climate-related risks, opportunities, and impacts
To assess how various climate change drivers may impact
GPE, we use the TCFD framework’s categorisation of transition
and physical climate risks. We consider climate-related risks and
opportunities over three time horizons: short, medium and
long term, identified on pages 58 to 63. These time horizons
follow our Roadmap to Net Zero targets and approach to
business and asset planning.
In line with the Group’s approach to risk management,
GPE defines whether a risk or opportunity is ‘principal’ by
the likelihood of it occurring and the potential impact it may
have. We consider climate change to be a principal risk to the
business due to the transitional risks and their potential impact
on rental values, building valuation and our ability to attract
and retain customers. Our full approach to defining principal
risk is found on page 79. Through our risk review process
we highlighted the following:
– the need to continue to increase customer and supply
chain engagement;
– the need to improve financial modelling on the impact of
climate change now that our metering project is complete;
and
– the importance of keeping track of evolving net zero
carbon and energy efficiency standards, including
changing government policy on net zero.
Additionally, we are responding to the transitional risks of
climate change, specifically upgrading EPC ratings, retrofitting
existing buildings, removing fossil fuels and aligning with CRREM
pathways. Our customer requirements on sustainability
continue to evolve as concepts such as net zero mature;
this impacts the design of our buildings and the materials
we use to develop and refurbish them.
This approach is where we see opportunities materialise,
through the provision of buildings and spaces that are resilient
to a changing climate, in turn supporting improved rents,
valuations and speed of letting. Our design briefs and asset
plans are structured to capitalise on this opportunity.
Physical risks
Whilst in the short to medium term, focus remains on
transitional risks, we see a gradual increase in focus on
physical risks such as flash flooding and overheating.
During the year, we updated our approach to identifying
physical climate risks as part of a high-level portfolio climate
risk assessment. See page 41 for further details. This assessment
has contributed to a broader, and updated understanding
of the physical climate hazards the GPE portfolio is exposed
to and the risk they may pose to assets in the present day,
and in the future, under different emission scenarios.
The assessment has identified surface water flood, storm events,
drought stress and potential associated subsidence of London
clay as posing a medium risk to the portfolio in the medium to long
term. River flooding, storm surge, extreme heat, coastal flooding
and wildfire are all considered low risk across the portfolio for
all strategic time horizons (see climate-related physical risk
tables on page 60 to 61 for definitions and further details).
Across the portfolio in the long-term (within the next 25 years),
two assets have been identified as being at high risk from surface
water flooding, and one asset at medium risk.
Resilience of the organisation’s strategy
considering different climate-related scenarios
The portfolio demonstrates a high level of resilience to physical
climate changes across RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 scenarios
and our strategic time horizons. The findings of our updated
portfolio climate risk assessment show that:
– surface water flooding is ranked as the greatest threat,
with two assets of the portfolio at high risk in the long term;
– storm events are a medium risk for the portfolio under all
scenarios and time horizons;
– drought risk fluctuates between a low and medium risk
across time horizons, dependent on the amount of warming.
Environment Agency data sources identify that water stress
as a result of drought puts central London at a greater
degree of risk for subsidence due to the clay formations of
the London basin. Mitigating this risk is outside of our direct
control, with all London property subject to this risk;
– river and sea flooding and storm surges are not considered
to be a concern in the short to medium term, due to
the portfolio’s distance from the River Thames and the
protection provided to the City from the Thames Barrier.
Over longer-term timescales the risk from flooding and
storm surges could increase depending on the upgrades
made to the Thames Barrier; and
– heat stress and wildfire are consistently low risk, but could
present high-impact events if not managed carefully.
We have outlined on pages 58 to 63 the climate-related
risks and opportunities identified by our business and how
we are responding to these risks to deliver both business
resilience and a resilient value chain.
The delivery of actions to reduce our risk has an impact
on the remuneration of all colleagues through our annual
bonus corporate scorecard (pages 10 and 11). Reduction in
energy consumption and net zero carbon developments are
intrinsically linked to energy savings. Decarbonisation Fund
contributions are listed in the Metrics and targets on page 65.
Risk management
In addition to the assessment of the principal and emerging
risks facing the Group at the half year and year end, the Board,
it’s Committees and our Management Committees, outlined
on page 56, review the actions taken to help mitigate our
sustainability-related risks. During the year this included:
– the Audit Committee reviewing the outcome of our
ESG Assurance;
– a proposal by the Executive Committee, approved by the
Board, to report a Circularity Score;
– discussion at the Sustainability Committee on the outcomes
of our double materiality assessment;
– oversight of our metering project and implementation of Energy
Action Plans by the Portfolio Sustainability Sub-committee,
including challenges on the commissioning of new meters and
transfer of information to our data management system;
– oversight of sustainability innovation through our Development
Sustainability Sub-committee, including in relation to the
availability and use of cement alternatives and circular
economy innovation; and
– design review meetings considered progress against,
and the applicability of ratings, such as BREEAM, SKA and
NABERS Design for Performance and NABERS UK Energy
for Performance.
Controls for managing our identified climate-related risks and
opportunities are outlined on pages 58 to 65 and more broadly,
integrated as a principal risk, within Our Approach to Risk
on pages 79 to 93.
57Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Sustainability continued
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) continued
Climate-related transition risks
Risk Description Scenario Short Medium Long Response to risk Next steps
Transition risks
Policy and legal Risk 1 Ability to respond to uncertainty on evolving
climate change-related legislation, such as
Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES)
and EPCs, leading to increased costs and the
risk of stranded assets.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Review of EPC upgrade costs completed, asset-level plans created
and being maintained, upgrade works underway integrating
principles of NABERS, works to remove energy-related fossil fuels
from all buildings underway.
Review of portfolio MEES and EPC compliance as UK Government
position crystallises in FY26. Thorough review of all assets against
CRREM energy intensity pathways (using newly completed metering
project) to support asset plans and disposals where appropriate.
Risk 2 Evolving local planning requirements, including
increased carbon tariffs, leading to increased
complexity of developing commercial
buildings with implications and pressures
on development budgets.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Our ‘Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces’ sets out key requirements
on energy performance in use, NABERS ratings, metering strategy,
embodied carbon and circular economy in building design to
reduce whole life carbon. Internal carbon price has supported
behavioural change.
Continued integration of sustainability ambitions into development
briefs from the outset. Maintaining existing, and creating new,
relationships with planning officers to ensure our overall strategy is
being communicated outside of the confines of planning permissions.
Development and Project Management teams remain integrated
into wider industry groups such as the City and Westminster Planning
Associations. GPE continues to feedback on public policy consultations
on changing performance requirements.
Technology Risk 3 Inefficiencies in building operation caused
by outdated utility metering and a lack
of understanding of complex building
management systems impacting customer
experience and operating costs.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Cross-portfolio, extensive metering project now complete to support
improved energy consumption data. In turn will support identification
of energy efficiency opportunities. Digital twin technology, energy
management software and enhanced building management systems
rolled out. New mechanical and electrical service partner with
clear energy-related KPIs.
Post-completion of the portfolio metering project, beginning to trial
real-time energy dashboards with our Customer Experience team before
piloting with our customers. Further integration of building information
modelling and BMS/EMS systems to support a more efficient approach
in collaboration with our new MEP service partner.
Risk 4 Increased costs associated with research
and development of technological solutions
or pace of change is not sufficient to respond
to scale of challenge.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Active programme exploring new materials and technological solutions
to energy efficiency and construction-related challenges. Investment
in Decarbonisation Fund. New MEP contract will drive innovation in
operation.
Our increased internal carbon price will allow for further opportunities
to invest outside of the standing portfolio and development pipeline
in start-ups, new technology and materials trials. There remains an
increased focus on innovation and technology to improve sustainability
outcomes and climate resilience of the business.
Market Risk 5 Volatility in energy market, prices and
availability of net zero energy tariffs. Energy
security concerns leading to increased direct
energy costs and adverse customer experience.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Regular customer meetings include energy consumption as a
key agenda item. Supply chain workshops underway to deal with
operational energy efficiency challenges. 100% of energy purchased
on net zero carbon tariffs. Procurement policy under review.
Sustainability remains a regular topic of engagement with
all customer types. Integration of energy and carbon targets into
service partner KPIs will lead to a performance-led approach.
Regular review of energy procurement remains a key deliverable
of our energy management function.
Risk 6 Increased costs of raw materials driven by
growing demand for sustainable products
may impact on ability to reduce embodied
carbon of future developments, direct impact
on development appraisals and returns.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Development Sustainability Sub-committee provides oversight of
sustainable products in use at our developments and progress against
embodied carbon targets. ‘Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces’
supports longer-term planning on embodied carbon. Engagement
with main contractor partners and specialist subcontractors.
Increased focus on the circularity of our materials and opportunities
for reuse with our portfolio. Maintain our quarterly roundtables with
quantity surveyors, structural engineers etc. to identify alternative
solutions for materials that are in short supply. Increase in the internal
carbon price allows greater scope of investment to come from the
Decarbonisation Fund, so that all areas of the business, and value chain,
can benefit.
Risk 7 Increased customer demand for highly
sustainable buildings may lead to the
risk of stranded assets.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
GPE approach to building acquisition remains the same, taking
poor performing assets and turning them into best-in-class space.
Our development and refurbishment programme prioritises
sustainable design.
Continue to embed Roadmap v2.0 to support achievement of
CRREM performance metrics. Include year of stranding when looking
to acquire assets. Continue to raise bar across our developments
to provide highly efficient and sustainable buildings.
Reputation Risk 8 Ability to meet increasing requirements on
sustainability disclosure from investors and
lender impacts on the Sustainability team’s
ability to deliver sustainable performance.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Active investor programme. Sustainability and Social Impact
Director meets with investors to understand their priorities. Updated
Roadmap to Net Zero includes alignment with CRREM pathways
and SBTi guidance.
Remaining close to our own investors with regard to their key ESG drivers
and requirements, as well as with our audit and assurance partners.
Focus in 2025/26 to continue putting foundations of transition plan
in place.
Climate change and decarbonisation is considered to be
a principal risk for GPE and the successful management
of that risk, along with any associated opportunity,
is critical for the Group to deliver its strategic priorities.
Our overarching risk management process comprises of four
main stages: risk identification, risk assessment, risk response,
and monitoring, reporting and escalation. The risks, and
opportunities, related to climate change are managed through
that same approach. Risk management is an integral part
of all business activities, as is consideration of the impact of
our activities on the long-term performance of the business.
The Group’s principal risks have remained largely unchanged
from the previous reporting period, as is the case with our
climate-related transition and physical risks that can be
seen in the following tables. We have taken the opportunity
to consolidate some of these risks in order to simplify
our approach to managing them.
Climate change remains a principal risk to the business, with
a ‘Medium’ net risk rating. We recognise the impact it has over
our ability to deliver on our strategic priorities and as such we
endeavour to ensure that the appropriate polices, procedures,
internal controls and people are in place to help minimise that risk.
Key
Short term Medium term Long term Impact rating*
1–5 years
(2026–2030)
5–10 years
(2031–2035)
10+ years
(2036+)
MediumLow High
* As assessed after existing controls and mitigations.
58 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Risk Description Scenario Short Medium Long Response to risk Next steps
Transition risks
Policy and legal Risk 1 Ability to respond to uncertainty on evolving
climate change-related legislation, such as
Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES)
and EPCs, leading to increased costs and the
risk of stranded assets.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Review of EPC upgrade costs completed, asset-level plans created
and being maintained, upgrade works underway integrating
principles of NABERS, works to remove energy-related fossil fuels
from all buildings underway.
Review of portfolio MEES and EPC compliance as UK Government
position crystallises in FY26. Thorough review of all assets against
CRREM energy intensity pathways (using newly completed metering
project) to support asset plans and disposals where appropriate.
Risk 2 Evolving local planning requirements, including
increased carbon tariffs, leading to increased
complexity of developing commercial
buildings with implications and pressures
on development budgets.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Our ‘Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces’ sets out key requirements
on energy performance in use, NABERS ratings, metering strategy,
embodied carbon and circular economy in building design to
reduce whole life carbon. Internal carbon price has supported
behavioural change.
Continued integration of sustainability ambitions into development
briefs from the outset. Maintaining existing, and creating new,
relationships with planning officers to ensure our overall strategy is
being communicated outside of the confines of planning permissions.
Development and Project Management teams remain integrated
into wider industry groups such as the City and Westminster Planning
Associations. GPE continues to feedback on public policy consultations
on changing performance requirements.
Technology Risk 3 Inefficiencies in building operation caused
by outdated utility metering and a lack
of understanding of complex building
management systems impacting customer
experience and operating costs.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Cross-portfolio, extensive metering project now complete to support
improved energy consumption data. In turn will support identification
of energy efficiency opportunities. Digital twin technology, energy
management software and enhanced building management systems
rolled out. New mechanical and electrical service partner with
clear energy-related KPIs.
Post-completion of the portfolio metering project, beginning to trial
real-time energy dashboards with our Customer Experience team before
piloting with our customers. Further integration of building information
modelling and BMS/EMS systems to support a more efficient approach
in collaboration with our new MEP service partner.
Risk 4 Increased costs associated with research
and development of technological solutions
or pace of change is not sufficient to respond
to scale of challenge.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Active programme exploring new materials and technological solutions
to energy efficiency and construction-related challenges. Investment
in Decarbonisation Fund. New MEP contract will drive innovation in
operation.
Our increased internal carbon price will allow for further opportunities
to invest outside of the standing portfolio and development pipeline
in start-ups, new technology and materials trials. There remains an
increased focus on innovation and technology to improve sustainability
outcomes and climate resilience of the business.
Market Risk 5 Volatility in energy market, prices and
availability of net zero energy tariffs. Energy
security concerns leading to increased direct
energy costs and adverse customer experience.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Regular customer meetings include energy consumption as a
key agenda item. Supply chain workshops underway to deal with
operational energy efficiency challenges. 100% of energy purchased
on net zero carbon tariffs. Procurement policy under review.
Sustainability remains a regular topic of engagement with
all customer types. Integration of energy and carbon targets into
service partner KPIs will lead to a performance-led approach.
Regular review of energy procurement remains a key deliverable
of our energy management function.
Risk 6 Increased costs of raw materials driven by
growing demand for sustainable products
may impact on ability to reduce embodied
carbon of future developments, direct impact
on development appraisals and returns.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Development Sustainability Sub-committee provides oversight of
sustainable products in use at our developments and progress against
embodied carbon targets. ‘Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces’
supports longer-term planning on embodied carbon. Engagement
with main contractor partners and specialist subcontractors.
Increased focus on the circularity of our materials and opportunities
for reuse with our portfolio. Maintain our quarterly roundtables with
quantity surveyors, structural engineers etc. to identify alternative
solutions for materials that are in short supply. Increase in the internal
carbon price allows greater scope of investment to come from the
Decarbonisation Fund, so that all areas of the business, and value chain,
can benefit.
Risk 7 Increased customer demand for highly
sustainable buildings may lead to the
risk of stranded assets.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
GPE approach to building acquisition remains the same, taking
poor performing assets and turning them into best-in-class space.
Our development and refurbishment programme prioritises
sustainable design.
Continue to embed Roadmap v2.0 to support achievement of
CRREM performance metrics. Include year of stranding when looking
to acquire assets. Continue to raise bar across our developments
to provide highly efficient and sustainable buildings.
Reputation Risk 8 Ability to meet increasing requirements on
sustainability disclosure from investors and
lender impacts on the Sustainability team’s
ability to deliver sustainable performance.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Active investor programme. Sustainability and Social Impact
Director meets with investors to understand their priorities. Updated
Roadmap to Net Zero includes alignment with CRREM pathways
and SBTi guidance.
Remaining close to our own investors with regard to their key ESG drivers
and requirements, as well as with our audit and assurance partners.
Focus in 2025/26 to continue putting foundations of transition plan
in place.
59
Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Sustainability continued
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) continued
Climate-related physical risks
Risk Description Scenario Short Medium Long Response to risk Next steps
Physical risks
Surface water
flooding
Risk 9 Surface water or flash flooding occurs when heavy
rain falls on hard surfaces which cannot be drained
away fast enough causing drainage systems and the
sewer network to become overwhelmed, leading to
the accumulation of water on the ground surface.
Potential impact on operations, remediation costs
and customer experience.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
As all assets in the portfolio are located within central London,
they have the potential to be at risk of surface water flooding.
Our portfolio has a very low risk of surface water flooding in the
present day, equating to a less than 0.1% chance of surface water
flooding occurring each year. Three buildings were identified as
potentially being at a higher risk of surface water flooding by 2050.
Emergency plans for flood risk are in place for all the buildings
and we are reviewing site-specific risk assessments for the assets
identified as being at a higher risk in the longer term.
Whilst there are several initiatives and city-level mitigation measures
to reduce the surface water flood risk of the city of London as whole,
we will always look at flood risk and mitigation at an asset level. Surface
water flooding poses financial impact including cost of repairing assets
damaged by water ingress, Whilst at the moment there is no evidence
of our insurance premiums increasing as a result of flooding, in the long
term this may change.
River and sea
flooding
Risk 10 River flooding is an overflow of water over its natural
banks and can be a result of heavy and intense
rainfall. Coastal flooding arises from factors such
as storm surges, high tides and sea-level rise often
exacerbated by extreme weather events and long-
term climate change impacts. Impact as above.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
Our review found that the overall risk of flooding from rivers
and the sea is very low across our portfolio.
Given the economic, social and political importance of London, it is
anticipated that measures such as Thames Barrier upgrades, will be
a national priority to mitigate and prevent the potential risk of severe
flooding events. We will continue to monitor progress, particularly
where it impacts locations, with higher proximity to the Thames.
Storm surge Risk 11 A storm surge is a change in sea level that is caused
by a storm. They can lead to extensive flooding with
high winds pushing sea water towards the coastline,
generating large waves and causing it to spill over
the land, and in some cases existing sea defences,
flooding coastal areas. Impact as above.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
In central London the risk of storm surge as a hazard is mitigated by
the performance of the Thames Barrier, with minor flooding incidents
at the river bank on some occasions. As the portfolio is located more
than 200m from the River Thames, the risk to the portfolio from storm
surges are not considered material, in the present day.
The location of our portfolio significantly reduces its risk of flooding
from storm surge throughout our strategic time horizons. Potential
financial implications are therefore likely to be limited.
Drought and
subsidence
Risk 12 Drought refers to a lack of water over several months.
It can be differentiated between meteorological
droughts, with a period of one to two months,
and hydrological droughts, with a period of four
months in which the groundwater level can also be
affected. Drought can lead to shrinking and swelling
of the ground which is often defined as subsidence.
Potential impact on structure of assets depending
on age, building construction and location.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
All of central London is considered to have a high risk of drought on
the London Risk Register and has been designated by the Environment
Agency (EA) as being located in a highly water stressed region of
the UK. As such whilst this is not a GPE asset-specific issue, assets with
higher water consumption are reviewed for opportunities to reduce
consumption. The financial impact to our business from drought
is considered to be limited until further assessments are undertaken
to be better inform actual costs. We will continue to keep this rating
under review as the Greater London Authority (GLA) publish further
details of its response to the London Climate Resilience Review.
Wider city-level mitigation measures have been identified to mitigate
drought risk at a regional level, with Thames Water setting out several
recommendations to increase resilience to drought stress across central
London, as such we will continue to engage with organisations such as
the GLA, EA and the statutory undertakers to mitigate the overall risk
to our portfolio, and the wider community.
Drought risk will be exacerbated for assets with higher water demand
and no water efficiency features, so we will review existing strategies to
reduce water usage across the portfolio including the implementation
of a water intensity target.
Overheating Risk 13 Heat stress in the built environment is where
buildings and urban infrastructure contribute to
elevated temperatures, exacerbating the effects
of heatwaves. This is influenced by factors such as
the absorption and retention of heat by materials
like concrete and metal, the Urban Heat Island
effect, and the lack of green spaces which limits
natural cooling. Potential impact on customer
experience, energy costs and replacement of
mechanical and electrical systems.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
The central London location of the portfolio means it is already exposed
to heat stress. As the Climate X dataset does not account for the Urban
Heat Island effect we believe it is likely that the portfolio may have a
higher exposure to this risk in the short term than projections suggest.
Therefore, assets with aging infrastructure, vulnerable users or limited
mitigation measures, which are more prone to the risks of overheating
in the short to medium term will be kept under review. Assessments
of overheating risk are included within pre-acquisition surveys.
A building design will heavily influence its vulnerability to overheating
and as such all our major new builds and refurbishments focus on
thermal comfort of customers as a priority. Interventions such as
internal and external shading will alter the amount of heat gains and
have cooling benefits so will be included where appropriate. Double
glazing and roof insulation can also reduce risk of overheating. Buildings
with glass façades can increase solar gains and internal temperatures.
Design, material selection and nature-based solutions to adapt to
climate change are therefore considered for all developments and
refurbishments irrelevant of scale.
Wildfire Risk 14 Wildfire is uncontrolled fire and is often exacerbated
by climatic conditions. Factors such as long dry
spells, rain, wind, vegetation, and the layout of
the terrain significantly impact the risk of wildfires
breaking out. Wildfire occurrence is episodic,
with events linked to the occurrence of hot or
dry weather conditions and fuel availability.
Potential to impact building access and
customer experience.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
The portfolio is not considered to be impacted by wildfire events
because of its urban location in central London and therefore financial
impacts to our business from wildfire hazards are considered to be
minimal. Urban areas have a lower likelihood of traditional wildfires
compared to rural and the rural-urban interface areas and therefore
it is considered at low risk from wildfires in the present day.
We will incorporate scenario planning for extreme weather events to
prepare and plan for unprecedented situations, periodically reviewing
and updating risk management documentation, with a focus on
collaboration and engagement with the emergency services. We will
keep a watching brief and update our approach where required.
Storm events Risk 15 A storm is a period of violent weather, often fed
by areas of low pressure, where wind speeds reach
over 48 knots, torrential rainfall of at least 25mm
per hours or snowfall of 1ft over 24 hours. Major
storm events can lead to substantial widespread
damage. Potential impacts as outlined above.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
Storms can lead to various financial impacts for our business, such as
the costs associated with repairing damage to the external façade
and equipment. The portfolio is considered to have a medium storm
risk in the present day and into the future particularly due to the
age of some of our assets. See page 41 for an illustration.
Further assessment will be completed to better understand potential
risks from wind damage to building façades. This will be integrated
into our building fabric register to identify any deterioration of façades.
We will also continue to engage with London Fire Brigade and Local
Councils on the impact of storms to our communities.
Key
Short term Medium term Long term Impact rating*
1–5 years
(2026–2030)
5–10 years
(2031–2035)
10+ years
(2036+)
MediumLow High
* As assessed after existing controls and mitigations.
60 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Risk Description Scenario Short Medium Long Response to risk Next steps
Physical risks
Surface water
flooding
Risk 9 Surface water or flash flooding occurs when heavy
rain falls on hard surfaces which cannot be drained
away fast enough causing drainage systems and the
sewer network to become overwhelmed, leading to
the accumulation of water on the ground surface.
Potential impact on operations, remediation costs
and customer experience.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
As all assets in the portfolio are located within central London,
they have the potential to be at risk of surface water flooding.
Our portfolio has a very low risk of surface water flooding in the
present day, equating to a less than 0.1% chance of surface water
flooding occurring each year. Three buildings were identified as
potentially being at a higher risk of surface water flooding by 2050.
Emergency plans for flood risk are in place for all the buildings
and we are reviewing site-specific risk assessments for the assets
identified as being at a higher risk in the longer term.
Whilst there are several initiatives and city-level mitigation measures
to reduce the surface water flood risk of the city of London as whole,
we will always look at flood risk and mitigation at an asset level. Surface
water flooding poses financial impact including cost of repairing assets
damaged by water ingress, Whilst at the moment there is no evidence
of our insurance premiums increasing as a result of flooding, in the long
term this may change.
River and sea
flooding
Risk 10 River flooding is an overflow of water over its natural
banks and can be a result of heavy and intense
rainfall. Coastal flooding arises from factors such
as storm surges, high tides and sea-level rise often
exacerbated by extreme weather events and long-
term climate change impacts. Impact as above.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
Our review found that the overall risk of flooding from rivers
and the sea is very low across our portfolio.
Given the economic, social and political importance of London, it is
anticipated that measures such as Thames Barrier upgrades, will be
a national priority to mitigate and prevent the potential risk of severe
flooding events. We will continue to monitor progress, particularly
where it impacts locations, with higher proximity to the Thames.
Storm surge Risk 11 A storm surge is a change in sea level that is caused
by a storm. They can lead to extensive flooding with
high winds pushing sea water towards the coastline,
generating large waves and causing it to spill over
the land, and in some cases existing sea defences,
flooding coastal areas. Impact as above.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
In central London the risk of storm surge as a hazard is mitigated by
the performance of the Thames Barrier, with minor flooding incidents
at the river bank on some occasions. As the portfolio is located more
than 200m from the River Thames, the risk to the portfolio from storm
surges are not considered material, in the present day.
The location of our portfolio significantly reduces its risk of flooding
from storm surge throughout our strategic time horizons. Potential
financial implications are therefore likely to be limited.
Drought and
subsidence
Risk 12 Drought refers to a lack of water over several months.
It can be differentiated between meteorological
droughts, with a period of one to two months,
and hydrological droughts, with a period of four
months in which the groundwater level can also be
affected. Drought can lead to shrinking and swelling
of the ground which is often defined as subsidence.
Potential impact on structure of assets depending
on age, building construction and location.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
All of central London is considered to have a high risk of drought on
the London Risk Register and has been designated by the Environment
Agency (EA) as being located in a highly water stressed region of
the UK. As such whilst this is not a GPE asset-specific issue, assets with
higher water consumption are reviewed for opportunities to reduce
consumption. The financial impact to our business from drought
is considered to be limited until further assessments are undertaken
to be better inform actual costs. We will continue to keep this rating
under review as the Greater London Authority (GLA) publish further
details of its response to the London Climate Resilience Review.
Wider city-level mitigation measures have been identified to mitigate
drought risk at a regional level, with Thames Water setting out several
recommendations to increase resilience to drought stress across central
London, as such we will continue to engage with organisations such as
the GLA, EA and the statutory undertakers to mitigate the overall risk
to our portfolio, and the wider community.
Drought risk will be exacerbated for assets with higher water demand
and no water efficiency features, so we will review existing strategies to
reduce water usage across the portfolio including the implementation
of a water intensity target.
Overheating Risk 13 Heat stress in the built environment is where
buildings and urban infrastructure contribute to
elevated temperatures, exacerbating the effects
of heatwaves. This is influenced by factors such as
the absorption and retention of heat by materials
like concrete and metal, the Urban Heat Island
effect, and the lack of green spaces which limits
natural cooling. Potential impact on customer
experience, energy costs and replacement of
mechanical and electrical systems.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
The central London location of the portfolio means it is already exposed
to heat stress. As the Climate X dataset does not account for the Urban
Heat Island effect we believe it is likely that the portfolio may have a
higher exposure to this risk in the short term than projections suggest.
Therefore, assets with aging infrastructure, vulnerable users or limited
mitigation measures, which are more prone to the risks of overheating
in the short to medium term will be kept under review. Assessments
of overheating risk are included within pre-acquisition surveys.
A building design will heavily influence its vulnerability to overheating
and as such all our major new builds and refurbishments focus on
thermal comfort of customers as a priority. Interventions such as
internal and external shading will alter the amount of heat gains and
have cooling benefits so will be included where appropriate. Double
glazing and roof insulation can also reduce risk of overheating. Buildings
with glass façades can increase solar gains and internal temperatures.
Design, material selection and nature-based solutions to adapt to
climate change are therefore considered for all developments and
refurbishments irrelevant of scale.
Wildfire Risk 14 Wildfire is uncontrolled fire and is often exacerbated
by climatic conditions. Factors such as long dry
spells, rain, wind, vegetation, and the layout of
the terrain significantly impact the risk of wildfires
breaking out. Wildfire occurrence is episodic,
with events linked to the occurrence of hot or
dry weather conditions and fuel availability.
Potential to impact building access and
customer experience.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
The portfolio is not considered to be impacted by wildfire events
because of its urban location in central London and therefore financial
impacts to our business from wildfire hazards are considered to be
minimal. Urban areas have a lower likelihood of traditional wildfires
compared to rural and the rural-urban interface areas and therefore
it is considered at low risk from wildfires in the present day.
We will incorporate scenario planning for extreme weather events to
prepare and plan for unprecedented situations, periodically reviewing
and updating risk management documentation, with a focus on
collaboration and engagement with the emergency services. We will
keep a watching brief and update our approach where required.
Storm events Risk 15 A storm is a period of violent weather, often fed
by areas of low pressure, where wind speeds reach
over 48 knots, torrential rainfall of at least 25mm
per hours or snowfall of 1ft over 24 hours. Major
storm events can lead to substantial widespread
damage. Potential impacts as outlined above.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.5
Storms can lead to various financial impacts for our business, such as
the costs associated with repairing damage to the external façade
and equipment. The portfolio is considered to have a medium storm
risk in the present day and into the future particularly due to the
age of some of our assets. See page 41 for an illustration.
Further assessment will be completed to better understand potential
risks from wind damage to building façades. This will be integrated
into our building fabric register to identify any deterioration of façades.
We will also continue to engage with London Fire Brigade and Local
Councils on the impact of storms to our communities.
61
Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Sustainability continued
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) continued
Climate-related transition and physical opportunities
Opportunity Description Scenario Short Medium Long Response to opportunity Next steps
Transition opportunities
Policy and legal Opp 1 Increasing complexity of regulatory environment
may present opportunities to acquire lower
rated buildings (stranded assets) at reduced
prices for repositioning.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Acquisition programme sought out lower rated buildings to
reposition into best-in-class space.
Our Investment and acquisition teams continue to review the market to
find lower rated buildings where an innovative approach to redevelop or
retrofit could support the creation of new best-in-class space. Examples
such as Soho Square or Whittington House demonstrate this approach.
Opp 2 Deep knowledge of sustainable development
supports transition of business to a ‘retrofit first’
approach which is challenging in London and
technically more difficult.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
We have been delivering refurbishment and retrofit projects for
a number of years and as such have built a resilient value chain
around us. Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces integrates
a number of legislative changes including biodiversity net gain,
circular economy statements and climate resilience.
Continued lessons learned from our steel reuse initiative between
2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2, and 30 Duke Street, SW1, to promote the
reuse of materials. Accelerated collaboration with our value chain,
through our Circular Economy Focus Groups, and with planning
officers through site visits.
Opp 3 Potential increased returns and improved
valuation connected with higher demand
for more sustainable space.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Research, and the market, continues to show that higher rated
sustainable buildings support increased valuations. The net zero
carbon status of 50 Finsbury Square EC2 supported the sale price.
Sustainable design and achieving the appropriate sustainability
ratings remains a priority.
We continue to work with our valuers to strengthen the argument for,
and provide a stronger evidence base on how more sustainable spaces
drive higher demand and in turn better returns. This has informed our
newly announced commitment to remove energy-related fossil fuels
from the portfolio, as well as our work on CRREM positions and physical
climate resilience.
Technology Opp 4 Early adoption of technology supports
improved visibility and management of utility
consumption and embodied carbon, leading to
ability to capitalise on customer expectations
and support improved net operating income.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Our portfolio-wide metering project has greatly improved not only the
visibility of data for ourselves but also supported greater behavioural-led
change and performance improvements. The opportunity to propose new
technology has been integrated into Our Brief for Creating Sustainable
Spaces and innovations around the delivery of net zero carbon buildings
are encouraged as below-the-line solutions in our tender process.
Completion of the metering project and integration of that data into
our asset dashboards will ensure that our customers have real-time
energy consumption data for their spaces. The increased scope of the
Decarbonisation Fund to our development pipeline, allows for further
investment in new technology and piloting solutions across development
and portfolio.
Market Opp 5 Increased collaboration with customers and
supply chain supporting faster progress on
energy efficiency and energy security. Also
supports value chain engagement.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Our new MEP contract supports increased innovation to reduce
consumption. We continue to review our energy procurement
process to support energy security. Energy is a key topic at customer
meetings, whilst our regular roundtables with key members of our
supply chain, including architects, engineers, project managers
and other service partners, support innovation.
Our public-facing targets in our Roadmap v2.0 that focus on our
engagement with customers and supply chain partners take this
approach to collaboration further. We also have regular energy intensity
sessions internally amongst key team members from Sustainability,
Technical Services and Customer Experience.
Opp 6 Ability to capitalise on deep knowledge of
London market, where other developers may
not be as well placed to navigate complexities.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
The GPE approach to building acquisition is well established,
taking poor performing assets in all regards and turning them
into best-in-class space in concentrated areas of London
that we know well.
We continue to remain active participants in groups such as the
Westminster and City Property Associations, supporting them through
our own experience of the London market and local planning
authority nuances.
Reputation Opp 7 Continued transparency of reporting coupled
with frequent investor engagement results
in increased confidence in ability of business
to deliver on sustainability goals.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Our approach to the disclosure of our data and performance
has been established over a number of years and this has included
our annual reporting process as well as third-party disclosures.
Through ongoing review of what we disclose and how we disclose it,
we are making improvements to the integration of sustainability data
into our Annual Report and creating a new accessible dataset that
will be publicly available for download.
Opp 8 Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces
supports best practice approach to sustainable
design irrespective of the product, leading to
consistency and positive customer and investor
reputation in the market.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
The opportunity to propose innovative approaches has been integrated
into Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces and solutions around
the delivery of net zero carbon buildings are encouraged. Sustainability
dashboards and our Development Sustainability Sub-committee
provide oversight of progress against KPIs.
We continue to implement the Brief across all our projects, including
on floor fit-out projects through our updated Flex Design Guidelines.
Feedback is being incorporated into new projects.
Opp 9 Early engagement and collaborative relationships
with supply chain to support early warning of supply
issues and ability to source alternative solutions,
provide more opportunities to innovate and
deliver best-practice.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Our approach to collaboration, outside of the confines of the
contractual environment, have supported much more transparent
and productive conversations with our supply chain partners.
Following on from the release of our revised Roadmap, and the
inclusion of formal engagement targets with our supply chain partners
on sustainability, we have held formal workshops to raise awareness
and foster greater collaboration between our supply chain partners.
This has particularly focused on the circular economy but also
feeds in low embodied carbon materials.
Physical opportunities
Opp 10 Potential increase in valuation of buildings
that are climate resilient and adaptable.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
‘Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces’ outlines key performance
requirements on incorporating climate resilience in the design of all
our spaces irrespective of size and scale.
Being able to identify building-specific risks supports the integration
of effective resilience measures such as increased flood defence
being managed at our Minerva House, SE1, project.
We will be reviewing our approach to climate risk modelling in the
coming year to expand upon the work that has already been done
across the portfolio. This will also include the identification of ways
in which we can better support our customers, and the communities
in which we operate, to deal with the physical risks of climate
change such as accessibility issues and emergency preparedness.
Opp 11 Increased demand for buildings that are resilient
to climate change, with measures such as passive
cooling, nature-based solutions and sustainable
urban drainage systems incorporated.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Key
Short term Medium term Long term Impact rating*
1–5 years
(2026–2030)
5–10 years
(2031–2035)
10+ years
(2036+)
MediumLow High
* As assessed after existing controls and mitigations.
62 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Opportunity Description Scenario Short Medium Long Response to opportunity Next steps
Transition opportunities
Policy and legal Opp 1 Increasing complexity of regulatory environment
may present opportunities to acquire lower
rated buildings (stranded assets) at reduced
prices for repositioning.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Acquisition programme sought out lower rated buildings to
reposition into best-in-class space.
Our Investment and acquisition teams continue to review the market to
find lower rated buildings where an innovative approach to redevelop or
retrofit could support the creation of new best-in-class space. Examples
such as Soho Square or Whittington House demonstrate this approach.
Opp 2 Deep knowledge of sustainable development
supports transition of business to a ‘retrofit first’
approach which is challenging in London and
technically more difficult.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
We have been delivering refurbishment and retrofit projects for
a number of years and as such have built a resilient value chain
around us. Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces integrates
a number of legislative changes including biodiversity net gain,
circular economy statements and climate resilience.
Continued lessons learned from our steel reuse initiative between
2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2, and 30 Duke Street, SW1, to promote the
reuse of materials. Accelerated collaboration with our value chain,
through our Circular Economy Focus Groups, and with planning
officers through site visits.
Opp 3 Potential increased returns and improved
valuation connected with higher demand
for more sustainable space.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Research, and the market, continues to show that higher rated
sustainable buildings support increased valuations. The net zero
carbon status of 50 Finsbury Square EC2 supported the sale price.
Sustainable design and achieving the appropriate sustainability
ratings remains a priority.
We continue to work with our valuers to strengthen the argument for,
and provide a stronger evidence base on how more sustainable spaces
drive higher demand and in turn better returns. This has informed our
newly announced commitment to remove energy-related fossil fuels
from the portfolio, as well as our work on CRREM positions and physical
climate resilience.
Technology Opp 4 Early adoption of technology supports
improved visibility and management of utility
consumption and embodied carbon, leading to
ability to capitalise on customer expectations
and support improved net operating income.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Our portfolio-wide metering project has greatly improved not only the
visibility of data for ourselves but also supported greater behavioural-led
change and performance improvements. The opportunity to propose new
technology has been integrated into Our Brief for Creating Sustainable
Spaces and innovations around the delivery of net zero carbon buildings
are encouraged as below-the-line solutions in our tender process.
Completion of the metering project and integration of that data into
our asset dashboards will ensure that our customers have real-time
energy consumption data for their spaces. The increased scope of the
Decarbonisation Fund to our development pipeline, allows for further
investment in new technology and piloting solutions across development
and portfolio.
Market Opp 5 Increased collaboration with customers and
supply chain supporting faster progress on
energy efficiency and energy security. Also
supports value chain engagement.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Our new MEP contract supports increased innovation to reduce
consumption. We continue to review our energy procurement
process to support energy security. Energy is a key topic at customer
meetings, whilst our regular roundtables with key members of our
supply chain, including architects, engineers, project managers
and other service partners, support innovation.
Our public-facing targets in our Roadmap v2.0 that focus on our
engagement with customers and supply chain partners take this
approach to collaboration further. We also have regular energy intensity
sessions internally amongst key team members from Sustainability,
Technical Services and Customer Experience.
Opp 6 Ability to capitalise on deep knowledge of
London market, where other developers may
not be as well placed to navigate complexities.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
The GPE approach to building acquisition is well established,
taking poor performing assets in all regards and turning them
into best-in-class space in concentrated areas of London
that we know well.
We continue to remain active participants in groups such as the
Westminster and City Property Associations, supporting them through
our own experience of the London market and local planning
authority nuances.
Reputation Opp 7 Continued transparency of reporting coupled
with frequent investor engagement results
in increased confidence in ability of business
to deliver on sustainability goals.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Our approach to the disclosure of our data and performance
has been established over a number of years and this has included
our annual reporting process as well as third-party disclosures.
Through ongoing review of what we disclose and how we disclose it,
we are making improvements to the integration of sustainability data
into our Annual Report and creating a new accessible dataset that
will be publicly available for download.
Opp 8 Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces
supports best practice approach to sustainable
design irrespective of the product, leading to
consistency and positive customer and investor
reputation in the market.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
The opportunity to propose innovative approaches has been integrated
into Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces and solutions around
the delivery of net zero carbon buildings are encouraged. Sustainability
dashboards and our Development Sustainability Sub-committee
provide oversight of progress against KPIs.
We continue to implement the Brief across all our projects, including
on floor fit-out projects through our updated Flex Design Guidelines.
Feedback is being incorporated into new projects.
Opp 9 Early engagement and collaborative relationships
with supply chain to support early warning of supply
issues and ability to source alternative solutions,
provide more opportunities to innovate and
deliver best-practice.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
Our approach to collaboration, outside of the confines of the
contractual environment, have supported much more transparent
and productive conversations with our supply chain partners.
Following on from the release of our revised Roadmap, and the
inclusion of formal engagement targets with our supply chain partners
on sustainability, we have held formal workshops to raise awareness
and foster greater collaboration between our supply chain partners.
This has particularly focused on the circular economy but also
feeds in low embodied carbon materials.
Physical opportunities
Opp 10 Potential increase in valuation of buildings
that are climate resilient and adaptable.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
‘Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces’ outlines key performance
requirements on incorporating climate resilience in the design of all
our spaces irrespective of size and scale.
Being able to identify building-specific risks supports the integration
of effective resilience measures such as increased flood defence
being managed at our Minerva House, SE1, project.
We will be reviewing our approach to climate risk modelling in the
coming year to expand upon the work that has already been done
across the portfolio. This will also include the identification of ways
in which we can better support our customers, and the communities
in which we operate, to deal with the physical risks of climate
change such as accessibility issues and emergency preparedness.
Opp 11 Increased demand for buildings that are resilient
to climate change, with measures such as passive
cooling, nature-based solutions and sustainable
urban drainage systems incorporated.
RCP 2.6
RCP 4.5
RCP 8.6
63Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Sustainability continued
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) continued
Impact on strategy
Linked risks/
opportunities Impact on financial planning
Operating costs, capital expenditure and allocation
Our Sustainability Statement of Intent, and revised Roadmap
to Net Zero, set out our sustainability strategy. Our refocused
strategy aims to ensure that climate resilience is integrated
across our business, and within our value chain, as well as
increasing our ambition with regard to embodied carbon
reduction and energy efficiency. Climate risk is considered
throughout our processes, including leases, customer
engagement, development appraisals, asset business plans,
financing arrangements, acquisitions and remuneration
arrangements.
Risk:
1-5, 7, 9-15
Opp:
1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 11
A detailed review of our portfolio allowed us to understand
the cost of improving our assets to an EPC B. That cost was
estimated to be c. £20million with most, if not all costs, being
incorporated into our usual approach to repositioning those
assets. This approach is now being updated to include data on
actual energy performance, as well as the cost of compliance,
across the standing portfolio, aligning with CRREM pathways and
our Roadmap to Net Zero. Our Decarbonisation Fund remains
available to support financial decision making that leads to
energy and carbon reductions.
Access to capital
It remains important to be able to demonstrate how financing
is linked to ESG considerations. Our Sustainable Finance
Framework was updated in the reporting year and sets out how
we link our debt facilities to our business activities. In addition,
our updated ESG-linked RCF incorporates KPIs on energy
intensity, embodied carbon and biodiversity.
Risk:
2, 4, 7, 8
Opp:
1-4, 6-8
Throughout the year we have engaged in a number of discussions
with our lenders, focusing on our ESG-linked Revolving Credit
Facility, as well as our new sterling unsecured sustainable bond
valued at £250million. We continue to monitor the effectiveness
of our sustainability strategy in supporting our access to capital
through our Committee structure.
Acquisitions and divestments
It is our business strategy to acquire assets that are at risk of
being stranded to refurbish and reposition them. We may also
seek to divest from assets where it is not possible to upgrade
to an EPC B rating. When making an acquisition, as part of our
due diligence, we review the impact of the current building
on our portfolio consumption and footprint, as well as the
likelihood of the redeveloped asset to meet key performance
metrics such as energy intensity and EPC rating. We continue
to integrate lessons we learn in acquisitions and divestments,
such as preparation of CRREM pathways for all assets, in our
standard operations.
Risk:
1-3, 5, 6, 8-15
Opp:
1-3, 6-8, 10, 11
Our Executive Committee, and the Board, are fully informed
of any potential acquisitions and the impact of meeting
sustainability performance metrics on financial viability.
This includes contributions to the Decarbonisation Fund, likely
embodied carbon impact of development proposals and
energy use intensities. In respect of divestments and disposals,
CRREM pathways are completed to support the sale of these
assets as buyers, and investment funds, become more mature
in the sustainability data they are requesting. The sustainability
credentials of the building also support the valuation.
Developments
The strategy for our developments remains relatively unchanged
with a very strong priority on the integration of elements
to mitigate climate risk and take advantage of sustainability
ambitions. Further additions have been made with regards to
circularity, tracking performance on our major projects to help
deliver resilience in material availability and embodied carbon
performance. We continue to take a whole life approach to
design, understanding upfront carbon emissions and assessing
the operational energy performance of all developments,
whether new build or refurbishment. A gap analysis against
the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard is undertaken for
the majority, with minimum impact on all-electric and climate
resilient buildings. The financial implications of implementing
this are included within our development appraisals, which also
include the impact of our Internal Carbon Price.
Risk:
1, 2, 4, 6, 7,
9-15
Opp:
1-6, 8-11
There are additional costs that are included in development
appraisals that are due to the delivery of sustainability and
climate resilience through our own strategy, but also due to the
evolving requirements of planning authorities. This covers both the
consultancy and technical expertise needed, but also the payments
within planning contributions for carbon offsetting. Our Internal
Carbon Price of £150 per tonne is applied at practical completion
of our developments and incentivises the reduction of embodied
carbon and supports progress towards our short-term embodied
carbon reductions, but has also prepared the business for external
pricing and offset contributions coming from the planning
environment. The costs associated with operational improvements,
in relation to upfront capital expenditure are also discussed with
Executive Committee during appraisals. Improvements to our
33 Gresse Street building have been reviewed in the context of
the return on investment of energy efficiency interventions.
Managing assets
The strategy for managing our assets is fed by our Roadmap
to Net Zero and tailored depending on the existing asset plan
i.e. where they are likely to be redeveloped, where customers
are leaving the space, how long we are holding the asset for. Our
Internal Carbon Price is applied to operational carbon emissions,
with our Decarbonisation Fund supporting ongoing investment
in energy efficiency projects across our portfolio and now into
innovation in our developments. As part of our ongoing strategic
short-term carbon and energy reduction targets, each asset
is reviewed to understand its year of stranding in CRREM, and
working with our portfolio engineering partners, and Technical
Service team, interventions to support physical and transitional
climate resilience are planned out for the short to medium term.
Risk:
1, 3-5, 7, 9-15
Opp:
1-5, 8-11
Our Portfolio Managers are ultimately responsible for the long-
term financial performance of our real estate assets. Energy
performance, climate resilience, biodiversity interventions
and social value are all monitored as part of our asset business
planning process. Our updated physical climate risk modelling
has been mapped against each asset to begin to allow for more
effective integration of mitigation measures into financial planning
and ultimately valuation. Improvements to both building fabric,
and internal systems, are programmed to reduce the impact on
existing customers whilst delivering the best return on investment
for the capex spend.
Strategy and financial planning
64 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Metrics and targets
Metrics and targets, including KPIs, used to assess climate-related risks and opportunities in line with
strategy and risk management processes.
Risk adaptation and
mitigation metrics Baseline 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Target Progress
EPCs rated A and B
by floor area
1
Risk:
1, 3-5, 7
Opp:
1, 3, 4, 5, 8
2016 43% 40% 43%
A
100%
by 2030
Compliant with current EPC legislation, with
plans in place to meet potential further EPC
legislative changes, and quarterly asset
reviews are monitoring progress.
Our acquisition of the Soho Square Estate
continues to keep the overall operational
floor area % of EPC As and Bs at a steady level
but this will be remedied as it transitions to
the development pipeline.
Including floor area in development, 81.3%
of the portfolio is meeting or targeting
EPC A and B.
EPCs rated F and G
by floor area
Risk:
1, 3-5, 7
Opp:
1, 3, 4, 5, 8
2016 0% 0% 0% 0%
annually
Proportion of portfolio
with green building ratings
by floor area
Risk:
1, 3-5, 7
Opp:
1, 3, 4, 5, 8
2016 48% 44% 41% 60%
by 2030
Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces
provides clear governance structure for the
delivery of green building ratings. The Brief
applies to all developments, refurbishments
and fit-outs. It includes certifications such as
BREEAM, WELL, Fitwel, NABERS and SKA ratings.
A further 25% of the portfolio in development
is targeting green buildings ratings.
Estimated annual savings
from energy efficiency
measures implemented
during the year
Risk:
1, 3-5, 7, 8
Opp:
1, 3-5, 7
2018 3,226 MWh 1,077 MWh 2,666 MWh Develop
by end of
FY26
The continuation, and completion, of our
metering upgrades are estimated to have
delivered over half of these savings this year,
by utilising automated, granular data and
dashboards to quickly identify any anomalies
in energy consumption. The rest of our FY25
savings have been delivered through optimised
operation and replacement of MEP equipment
with more efficient alternatives on end-of-life.
Internal Carbon Price
Risk:
1-15
Opp:
1-11
2021 £95 £95 £150 Review
by end of
FY27
The ICP is currently applied to Scope 1 and 2
location-based emissions and residual embodied
carbon emissions from our development pipeline.
It has been updated to £150 per tCO
2
e in the
Roadmap v2.0.
Annual contribution to
Decarbonisation Fund
Risk:
1-15
Opp:
1-11
2022 £887.2k £338k £793.9k Develop
by end of
FY26
Decarbonisation Fund in place since 2020
supporting investment in efficiency of our
standing assets. Continue to utilise the fund to
support decarbonisation of our value chain.
FY24/25 increase due to the completion of
developments that meet the criteria for the
Internal Carbon Price, SIX and 31/34 Alfred Place.
Electricity purchased
from renewable sources
Risk:
5, 7, 8
Opp:
1, 3-5, 7
2020 100% 100% 100% 100%
annually
We procure 100% REGO-backed electricity,
however we continue to review this approach
to energy procurement to ensure it is robust,
transparent and in line with best practice.
On-site renewable
energy generation
Risk:
5, 7, 8
Opp:
1, 3-5, 7
2020 5.3 MWh
Restated
6.7 MWh 12.4MWh Target
removed
Our original target of 600MWh of renewable
energy generation by 2030 has been removed
from our Raodmap to Net Zero v2.0 due to
limitations in ability to retrofit solar PV e.g. lack
of roof space, structural limitations and minimal
return on investment. We will continue to install
on-site renewable energy where there is an
appropriate return on investment.
A Metrics with independent limited assurance provided by PwC in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE3000).
1. Based on operational floor area, excluding on-site development. Further detail with forecast EPC ratings can be found on page 49.
Further information supplementary to this disclosure can be found in our Sustainability Statement of Intent and our Roadmap to Net Zero v2.0,
providing context and historic performance against all metrics and targets, at www.gpe.co.uk/sustainability/governance-reporting
Our Sustainability Performance tables detail our full performance against our targets for the last financial year. Detailed reporting
of our sustainability performance, including energy consumption and Scope 1, 2 and relevant Scope 3 metrics (including carbon emissions
associated with water consumption and waste management), is included within our Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)
table on pages 44 to 49 of our Annual Report.
65Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Sustainability continued
Growing Our Circularity: Reuse + Recycle = Results
In November 2024 we announced our innovative Circularity
Score and targets for our development projects.
We believe that measurement supports knowledge and
improvement, and that early action to stimulate innovation in the
marketplace is essential. By setting out an initial methodology,
we were able to understand how our projects were performing
and, from April 2025, put measures in place to ensure that the
Circularity Score becomes an integral part of the project brief.
We committed to publicly disclosing our building circularity
scores for our on-site developments as well as providing more
detail on methodology. A summary can be found below, with
more detail available in our Sustainability Performance Tables
at www.gpe.co.uk/sustainability/governance-reporting
It is inevitable that these scores will vary based on the nature of
the building (refurbishment, extension, new build), stage of the
project (planning, design, construction) and the level of estimation
and benchmarking that is required. However by disclosing
this information, we hope to develop a better understanding
of circularity, stimulate debate and drive improved performance.
Circularity Score Targets %
50
0
20
10
30
40
60
April 2040April 2030April 2025
Project
Retained
%
Reused
%
Recycled
%
Circularity
Score
%
2 Aldermanbury Square 0 0 36 36
Minerva House 55 0 11 66
30 Duke Street 7 3 16 26
Soho Square Estate 25 0 6 31
St. Thomas Yard 57 1 10 68
The Courtyard 69 2 4 75
Whittington House 84 1 1 86
The GPE Circularity Score includes the mass of the sub- and super-structure,
the façade and MEP elements of the building. The Score is the equally
weighted percentage of those elements that come from retained and
reused sources, as well as the recycled content portion of new materials.
Case study – Circular Economy Focus Group
Announcing and implementing our Circularity Score was
the first step in accelerating our adoption of the principles
of circularity. We also wanted to stimulate debate, leading
to the establishment of our Circular Economy Focus
Group (CEFG).
The circularity innovation achieved at our current
developments, and on sustainability more broadly
has been due to our close collaboration with our
supply chain partners who are integral to our success.
Our CEFG therefore aims to continue that collaboration
to advance our thinking on circularity. The CEFG is made
up of key members of our project teams, listed below,
and representatives from GPE’s Project, Development
and Sustainability teams.
The forum has stimulated several interesting and lively
discussions about the challenges we face, the solutions
that can be implemented in the current marketplace
and how GPE as a developer can help influence and
support the industry to innovate faster.
As part of our commitment to transparency and
sharing learnings, some of our discussions have included:
Challenging our Circularity Score: We considered a
number of questions regarding challenges in reporting
and embedding our score including:
– What data is available for us to measure?
– How do we get consistency across projects?
– Is there such a thing as too strong a focus on circularity?
– Are we including the right building elements?
– Should we be weighting the score based on building type?
As has been the case with embodied carbon measurement,
we expect our Circularity Score approach to evolve over
time as information improves, However, in the absence
of an industry definition, we are confident that we have
arrived at a sufficiently robust methodology.
Material by material: Whilst we have made good progress
in the mass reuse of steel, we must continue to advance
our circularity approach across the development process.
Each building is unique in the way in which it meets its
Circularity Score, so a number of materials and process
solutions will be required to keep improving our approach.
This approach is evident at 30 Duke Street, where innovative
approaches to circularity are being realised in the steel
frame, the glass in the windows, aluminium in the frames
and the stone in the façade.
Innovative solutions: Having such a diverse range of
specialisms and experience around the focus group table
is supporting greater innovation. This has included new
materials and processes, for example:
– Hydro CIRCAL procured at 30 Duke Street: the first
aluminium product made entirely from 100%
post-consumer scrap.
– Material Index in use at Whittington House: a new
approach to pre-redevelopment, capturing the existing
building through digital surveys, allowing us to fully map
the pathway of materials allowing us to keep their value.
– Xeroc potential at Soho Square: an innovative approach
to delivering circularity by taking concrete crush and
reprocessing it directly into new concrete product.
We are hoping to trial this or other low-carbon concrete
technologies at one of our upcoming developments.
CEFG Members
Architects: Make, ORMS.
Contractors: Bovis, Keltbray, Mace, Morrisroe, Multiplex.
Engineers: Elliott Wood, Heyne Tillett Steel.
Sustainability: Arup, Sweco.
The Courtyard St. Thomas Yard
66 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Our people and culture
Q&A with Carrie Heiss, HR Director
Q1: What have been some of your proudest
‘people moments’ of the year?
There have been several, but for me everything starts
with our values.
On the first day of the financial year we ‘re-launched’ our
corporate values, not because there was anything wrong
with them, but because we wanted to test whether they still
reflected our most fundamental beliefs. We really scrutinised
the wording and the meaning of the words and it was great
to validate that they were just as relevant as when they were
first articulated. We did, however, make a couple of notable
changes. We added a value to reflect the importance of
our customers and we also refined the wording on another
core value from ‘Open and Fair’ to ‘Fair and Inclusive’.
Our values are embedded into our annual and mid-year
performance review process and, in addition to the
delivery of their personal objectives, everyone is assessed
on ‘how’ they behave in relation to our values. We also
take opportunities to publicly recognise behaviour that
exemplifies our values. Colleagues have the opportunity
to nominate their peers for a quarterly ‘Living our Values’
award and these are presented by the Chief Executive.
Another thing we are especially proud of this year is
following up on our commitment to growth and progression.
We always say that companies grow and thrive when people
grow and thrive. We see learning as a partnership between
GPE and the individual – GPE makes opportunities available,
and individuals choose where and how to partake based
on where they want to go and what they want to achieve,
which is their responsibility to define.
In 2023/24, we prioritised leadership development and ran
two bespoke development programmes for our leaders
and people managers called Momentum and Inspire.
This year, we launched GPE Thrive Learning which is aimed
at all our colleagues and provides training and learning
opportunities to meet their individual needs.
In addition to the opportunities offered through Thrive
Learning, all colleagues have a personal development plan.
The Executive Committee also conducts an annual Talent
Review of everyone in the business. In this way, we try to ensure
that people are progressed and promoted at the right time.
We have made several key appointments this year, most
of whom were promoted from within.
It’s been a busy year on the people front.
Our people are at the heart of everything
we do – their passion, expertise and
commitment are what turn plans into
amazing workspaces for our customers.”
Carrie Heiss Human Resources Director
– Collaborating
and working well
with others.
– Actively seeking
expertise from others.
– Supporting and
empowering each
other to succeed.
– Challenging and
questioning without
confrontation.
– Acknowledging
the contribution
of others.
– “We” not “me”.
– Respecting each other.
– Treating people fairly.
– Honest and transparent
communication.
– Listening with empathy.
– Being open-minded.
– Colleagues feeling
they belong and
can be themselves.
– Valuing all kinds
of diversity.
– Actively test new
things, capture
learnings and
move forward.
– Capitalising on
opportunities
to innovate.
– Overcoming
obstacles and seeing
things through.
– Being curious;
continuously learning
and looking ‘out’.
– Being brave;
having the courage
to challenge the
status quo.
– Showing positivity
and enthusiasm.
– Holding ourselves
to a high standard
in everything we do.
– Consistently striving
for the best result.
– Applying rigour,
discipline and focus
to our work.
– Taking responsibility
and being accountable.
– Going the extra mile.
– Learning from
both successes
and mistakes.
– Adding value;
coming prepared
with fresh ideas.
– Keeping our word;
following through
and keeping our
promises.
– Actively listening;
using personal,
two-way dialogue
to ensure we
understand.
– Bringing the energy;
as passionate,
can-do people.
– Being flexible;
adapting solutions
to meet changing
requirements.
Company values
67Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our people and culture continued
Q2: How does GPE think about engagement
and how engaged is your workforce?
Very engaged! For us, engagement is a measure of our
colleagues’ connection and commitment to GPE’s purpose,
culture and direction. High levels of engagement indicate good
alignment which means we are on the right track. We want
engaged, happy colleagues. It is important to regularly
ask for feedback on how we are doing as the population
evolves and we do not take anything for granted.
Our results from our most recent engagement survey are very
encouraging. Our overall favourability rating has increased
from 74% (February 2024) to 78% (February 2025) with 89%
of the population responding. In particular, the three primary
questions we ask to gauge employee engagement have
all significantly increased in terms of favourable responses
and our overall employee engagement and inclusion
index score increased from 74% to 80.3%.
As a result of the February 2024 survey, we identified
some areas for improvement. Specifically, we wanted to:
– increase cross-team collaboration and coordination.
What we did: set and published team-level objectives
to clarify roles and responsibilities and improve
cross-functional working.
– improve our Head Office physical work environment.
What we did: reconfigured our communal/social
space to look beautiful and work better for everyone.
– improve our internal systems and processes for
optimal productivity.
What we did: established priorities and commenced
a large project to migrate our current finance and
property management system to a new system which
will transform and improve many of our work processes.
Many positives were identified from the February 2025
survey and the particular standouts, which were very
reassuring to hear, were as follows:
– strong, consistent and very effective communication from
senior leaders as well as confidence in our leaders overall;
– recognition of GPE’s good and competitive employee benefits;
– an improvement in collaboration and teamwork across
the business;
– appreciation of GPE’s focus on wellbeing;
– appreciation of GPE’s genuine commitment to customers; and
– acknowledgement that diversity and inclusion (D&I)
is truly important to our leaders. At the same time, 68%
(February 2024: 70%) said they feel we are doing the right
things to improve D&I, and we hope to see this improve
as we implement our updated D&I Plan (see page 69).
There are two key areas of improvement from this year’s
survey. The first is related to our ongoing efforts to continue
to improve our systems and streamline some of our processes.
In response to feedback that our schedules can be ‘meeting
heavy’, we will challenge ourselves to ensure our ‘meeting
culture’ allows us to be optimally effective. We aim to
establish guidelines on effective meetings which will likely
reduce the overall number and length of meetings that take
place. Secondly, while we have improved the look of our
environment in our Head Office significantly in the last year,
we want to address some further functionality that would
benefit our colleagues. This includes reviewing our desk
booking procedure and potentially adding some additional
quiet zones for colleagues to use.
The Listening Initiative, ‘The Booth’, which we introduced in
2023/24 has been a very effective way to connect members
of the Executive Committee with the wider business. Similarly,
our additional Board-workforce engagement format, ‘A lunch
with…’, (see pages 107 and 108), has been well-received and
we look forward to continuing with these, alongside our wider
colleague engagement initiatives.
Q3: You have recently updated your three-year
People Strategy, what has changed?
Our People Strategy is all about unlocking potential and
creating opportunities for our people to thrive. Practically,
this means creating the conditions for people to do their
best work and to feel fulfilled and happy doing so. Our
central assertion is that happy people perform better and
this ultimately translates to better business outcomes.
Said another way, we want the right number of really happy
people doing their best work and delivering great results.
Our updated People Strategy, which takes us through
to 2027, is not a significant change in direction; it is more
a reframing to emphasise the explicit link to Company
performance. In setting the Strategy, we discussed with the
Executive Committee and the Board what actually influences
happiness at work and what conditions need to exist to
support this. As a result, we have very clear ambitions for
our four main pillars of focus, being:
– Health & Wellbeing;
– Growth & Progression;
– Reward & Recognition; and
– Leadership Capability.
These pillars are underpinned by our core values, D&I, and
an emphasis on essential cultural and environmental factors
such as relationships with co-workers, pride and a sense
of purpose and autonomy. Our annual engagement survey
results from February 2025 validate that we are on the right
course in terms of the quality of our employee experience.
85%
Employee
Engagement Index
(February 2025)
76% in February 2024
85%
of our colleagues
recommend GPE as
a great place to work
74% in February 2024
91%
of our colleagues
believe in what we
are trying to achieve
80% in February 2024
79%
say work gives them
a personal feeling
of accomplishment
72% in February 2024
68 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Q4: So, D&I is still a core part of your
People Strategy?
Very much so! Along with our core values, D&I forms the
foundation of our People Strategy and adds an important
additional dimension to the ‘happy people’ theory. When inclusion,
belonging, and psychological safety are prioritised, employees
feel empowered to contribute authentically and perform at
their best. Creating and prioritising these conditions takes time,
genuine commitment and a consistency of approach which
must be driven from the top down. This is driven from the Board,
the Executive Committee and our entire senior leadership team,
including our Inclusion Champions (the Inclusion Committee
members and co-chairs of our Employee Impact Groups).
There are two complementary building blocks of focus in
our D&I Plan – Diverse Talent and Inclusive Culture. Within each,
we have identified action areas (see table below) and each has
specific targets and commitments for the next three to five
years. A full description of our progress against these targets
will be published annually on our corporate website, starting
following the end of the 2025/26 financial year.
We believe targets are important. They help guide our actions
and keep us on track and they measure our progress to increase
diversity. Details of our diversity representation targets, and
progress in the year, can be found on page 72. However, targets
are just a part of the bigger picture. Just as important as the
demographic of our workforce is the environment we all work in.
We aspire for GPE to truly be the employer of choice in our sector,
a place where people feel they belong and where they want to be.
We see this as an ever-evolving journey and not a destination.
External validation of best practice is important to us. In 2020
we received the National Equality Standard (NES) and in 2023
we decided to work with Clear Assured, a global, independent
standard which validates D&I, culture and strategy against an
evidence-based framework designed and assessed by experts.
We are incredibly proud of the fact that we have recently
received our Silver accreditation. When communicating the
achievement to GPE in March 2025, Clear Assured stated:
“We have been particularly impressed by your dedication
to continuous improvement, making practical and strategic
changes to ensure D&I Initiatives resonate closely and
impactfully with all employees”.
Our D&I Plan sits alongside our Social Impact Strategy. They
are closely interconnected as both aim to create equitable
opportunities and drive positive societal and organisational
change. In areas where the strategies intersect, we aim to
ensure full alignment on our actions.
Q5: What is the Company’s stance on hybrid
or flexible working?
Until recently, GPE has operated a ‘pilot’ Hybrid Working Policy
of three days in the office and two days working from home
for colleagues based in our London head office (or four days
per week for some roles which are based in our wider portfolio
locations). In a recent formal review of the pilot, we discovered
that attendance in our head office actually exceeded the
requirement in the policy. We believe the reason for this is that
we have anchored some of our main communication events
on key days during the week, including Mondays. Ultimately,
we trust our people to work in a way that allows them to achieve
their objectives and we assess them based on the output they
produce. As a result of the pilot review, we have formalised our
Hybrid Working Policy, introduced some additional flexibility for
colleagues to work from home in August and also introduced
a new ‘You Day’ for 2025 (see page 108).
We appreciate that flexibility is important for our colleagues.
In general, flexibility is fully supported at GPE, either through
formal flexible working arrangements or more informally
through effective and supportive line management.
86%
of our colleagues
say that they “feel
comfortable here,
accepted and able
to be myself”
79% in February 2024
73%
of our colleagues say
that “leaders show
their commitment to
making GPE an inclusive
environment”
66% in February 2024
Diverse Talent Inclusive Culture
Leadership Workforce Inclusive Leaders
Employee
Engagement &
Belonging
Future Talent
(see page 70)
Recruitment &
Progression
Employee Impact
Groups (see page 71)
Training &
Embedded Learning
Our D&I Plan focuses on eight key action areas:
69Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our people and culture continued
We believe everyone should have
the same access to opportunities
to do great things in life and build
great careers, yet we understand
that some may face challenges
or barriers in order to access
these opportunities.
We are committed to supporting
social mobility and we will identify
pathways for future talent to enter
GPE which in turn, will benefit the
wider real estate sector.
We proudly source interns
from the 10,000 Black Interns
Programme. For 2025/26, we will
provide at least four internships for
individuals from diverse backgrounds
each year. We will also continue
to provide apprentice positions
each year, and from 2026/27, we will
begin to monitor conversion rates,
with a view to converting some
of our apprentices to permanent
entry-level roles.
Examples of our D&I Plan in action:
Future Talent –
a commitment
to early careers
Jose Neto
Customer Experience
Manager
“ I am very passionate
about the apprenticeship
route into the property
sector. I began my career
as an apprentice in 2017
in facilities management.
I worked while completing
my IWFM course and
this allowed me to gain
the hands-on experience
as well as the theory.
I now am a strong
advocate for entry-level
roles – both internships
and apprenticeships.
I believe these types of
roles allow people who
may not have considered
the real estate sector
to access opportunities
and grow their career. I
have recently begun line
managing two apprentices
in our Customer Experience
team and it is very
rewarding to see their
growth in the short time
they have been with us.”
Jada McGibbon
Customer Experience Apprentices
(six months of service)
“ I began my apprenticeship
with GPE in October 2024,
and it has been an incredible
experience so far. I am
completing my Facilities
Management Supervisor
Level 3 qualification which
allows me to gain practical
experience while working
four days per week with
one day as a study day. I
work alongside a supportive
team and it really helps
to have a manager who
started their career as an
apprentice as it helps me
to see what I can achieve.
As the youngest female at
GPE, I was really proud to
be a panellist at our recent
event for International
Women’s Day. I was able to
speak about some of my
personal experiences and
shared that my Mum is my
female hero on account of
her strong work ethic and
determination. I also have
a passion for football!”
Sam Coteman
Customer Experience Apprentice
(six months of service)
“ I started my apprenticeship
straight after finishing my
BTEC National Diploma
in Business Studies. I enjoy
working in the Customer
Experience team who
continue to support me in
both my work and studies
to achieve my qualification.
I play a key role in the
day-to-day operational
management of our buildings
– ensuring we continue to
deliver best-in-class service
to our customers. I see this
as the start of a great career
in property where I am
developing valuable skills
in facilities and operational
management. In my spare
time I enjoy playing various
sports and have recently
set up a technology blog.”
70 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Expanded and further empowered
our Impact Groups
Our Inclusion Committee (see page 102 for further details)
was established back in 2022. Soon after, we established
four Employee Resource Groups. These are powerful engines
for driving inclusion, business innovation and employee
engagement. At GPE, we go a step further and refer to these
as our Employee Impact Groups (EIGs). When we empower
our EIGs, we create spaces where all voices are heard,
where employees feel valued and where critical insights are
uncovered. Simply stated, our EIGs give our employees a
very loud voice and we are proud of how they have become
a core part of our daily working lives. In addition to hosting
various events and activities throughout the year, each
EIG has a direct line of communication to the Executive
Committee. Each quarter, an EIG provides an update which
is an opportunity for an open and honest exchange on issues,
priorities and concerns. This keeps the Executive Committee
very close to the issues that matter to the EIGs and we work
together to keep moving forward. We have recently asked
each EIG to refresh their mission statements. We have also
expanded the focus of both our Parents and Carers and
Women’s EIGs, as explained below.
GPE BEING
No longer the ‘Women’s Impact
Group’, we have moved to actively
recognising all genders and
issues of identity and expression
as well as issues which may be
gender specific. This expanded
focus allows us to raise
awareness more broadly while
still focusing on gender-specific
issues as appropriate. We have
adopted a ‘steering group’
approach and rely heavily on
our allies across the business.
GPE POWER
This Impact Group remains
focused on three main areas of
wellbeing: physical, mental and
financial, and we concentrate
our efforts on issues which affect
the entire GPE population. This
Impact Group is overflowing
with ideas and initiatives to keep
everyone in tip-top condition.
GPE HEART
Previously named the ‘Parents
and Carers’ Impact Group,
parents and carers remain
a core audience to represent,
but we have now added a focus
on neurodiversity and disability
as these dimensions touch
many of us either individually
or within our family and close
social circles. We aim to increase
awareness, knowledge and to
support each other to thrive.
GPE REACH
This Impact Group remains
focused on race, ethnicity
(including religion) and cultural
heritage, raising our collective
awareness and supporting/
promoting activities and
initiatives which increase
representation and equal
opportunities for all.
Belonging
Expression
Identity
aNd
Gender
Helping
Employees
And
Relatives
Thrive
Promoting
Overall
Wellbeing
Energy &
Resilience
Race
Ethnicity
And
Cultural
Heritage
71Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
GPE workforce
GPE has a workforce of 152 colleagues (31 March 2025) which is
up from 134 in March 2024. We have welcomed and successfully
onboarded 42 new joiners and had 24 leavers. Our retention
rate of 84.6% as a measure of stability (up from 75.5% in 2024)
reflects an extremely stable workforce. Voluntary turnover
remains low at 5.6%.
This year, we prioritised investment in our Digital & Technology
team, created a new Flex Workspaces and Design team and
added to our Customer Experience team as we launch more
Fully Managed spaces.
Gender and ethnicity balance
We genuinely believe that diversity gives us strength, resilience
and advantage. We are proud of the fact that 50% of GPE’s
population is female (76 of 152 as at 31 March 2025).
We have set ambitious representation targets to achieve
by 2030, with annual targets set each year to drive progress:
– 50% of all senior leadership roles to be held by women
by 31 March 2030. 31 March 2025: 37% against a target
of 40% (31 March 2024: 33.3%).
– 30% of all management roles to be held by ethnic minorities
by 31 March 2030. 31 March 2025: 17% against a target
of 20% (31 March 2024: 15%).
Despite improvements, we fell slightly short of the 2024/25
targets and remain focused on our progress. In line with
the Parker Review, we have also set a target for 15% of
Diversity disclosure tables
Gender:
as at 31 March 2025
Number
of Board
members
Percentage
of the Board
Number of
Senior Positions
on Board
(CEO, CFO,
SID and Chair)
Number
in Executive
Management
1
Percentage
of Executive
Management
Number
of total
employees
Percentage
of total
employees
Men 6 60% 4
2
6 75% 75 49%
Women 4 40% –
2
2 25% 76 50%
Other categories – 0% – – 0% 1 1%
Not specified/prefer not to say – 0% – – 0% 0 0%
1. In accordance with the UK Listing Rules’ definition, Executive Management comprises the Executive Committee (being the most senior executive
body below the Board).
2. Karen Green succeeded Nick Hampton as SID on 1 April 2025 and, as such, the SID role is now held by a woman.
Ethnic Background:
as at 31 March 2025
Number
of Board
members
Percentage
of the Board
Number of
Senior Positions
on Board
(CEO, CFO,
SID and Chair)
Number
in Executive
Management
1
Percentage
of Executive
Management
Number
of total
employees
Percentage
of total
employees
White British or other White
(including minority-white groups) 9 90% 4 8 100% 116 76%
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups – 0% – – 0% 10 7%
Asian/Asian British 1 10% – – 0% 6 4%
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British – 0% – – 0% 12 8%
Other ethnic group – 0% – – 0% 3 2%
Not specified/prefer not to say – 0% – – 0% 5 3%
Approach to data collection
All individuals are asked to self-report their ethnicity and gender identity on a strictly confidential and voluntary basis with a ‘prefer not to say’
option for certain fields. Over 95% of our population have self-reported personal information for ethnicity and gender identity as well as religion,
sexual orientation and disability.
our senior managers (Executive Committee and their
direct reports) to be held by ethnic minorities by the end
of 2027; 31 March 2025: 6.8% (31 March 2024: 4.2%).
Senior leadership gender diversity as at 31 March 2025
Males Females % Female
Executive Committee 6 2 25%
Senior Management 11 8 42.1%
All senior leadership roles 17 10 37.0%
Senior Management above is comprised of our Department
Directors and Heads of Departments. As at 31 March 2025, and
for the purposes of disclosure under section 414C Companies
Act 2006, our ‘senior leader’ population of Executive
Committee members (excluding the Executive Directors)
and members of Senior Management comprised 14 men
(58%) and ten women (42%).
Executive Committee and direct reports as at 31 March 2025
62%
38%
Male 18
Female 11
The Executive Committee and
their direct reports include
Executive Directors, other
Executive Committee members
(including the General Counsel
& Company Secretary) and
their direct reports comprising
individuals for whom they
have direct line management
responsibility, excluding
administrative or support roles.
Information prescribed by the UK Listing Rules on the gender diversity of our Board and Executive Management, and also on
our total employee population, is set out in the diversity disclosure tables below. Details regarding the Board’s Diversity Policy
and representation targets, its approach to D&I and our Board diversity statement can be found in the Nomination Committee
report on pages 114 and 115.
Our people and culture continued
72 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Our stakeholder relationships
Whichever offer our customers prefer, they are each developed
with sustainability at their core. We future-proof our spaces,
incorporating technology to enhance the customer experience,
and they are designed to promote health and wellbeing for
our customers and local communities, with highly adaptable
open plan configurations and outdoor spaces.
We recognise that to deliver a high quality service, we need
to have a direct relationship with our customers. Therefore, we
have dedicated in-house Customer Experience and Workplace
Technical Services teams whose roles are to manage the day-to-
day operation of our buildings and deliver an attractive service
provision to all of our customers. During the year, we initiated
a programme for employees to spend time with the Customer
Experience team to better understand customer needs.
Our service proposition
It takes a true partnership to unlock potential. That is why
we work hand in hand with our customers to ensure we thrive
together. We understand there is no one size fits all approach
and that we need to work closely with our customers to
understand their challenges and changing needs. Our service
proposition ‘Together we thrive’ helps ensure we continue
to deliver and maintain the highest standards and ensure
consistency in our approach, whilst also providing a strong
promise to our customers:
Service standards:
Actively
listen
Bring the
energy
Be
flexible
Add
value
Keep our
word
Service proposition:
Together we thrive
Knowledge of the changing needs of our customers requires a
close relationship and regular engagement. A key element of
our approach, in addition to frequent day-to-day interaction,
is to require our team to formally meet with every customer
twice a year and we have enhanced our engagement with
Executive Committee members meeting a cross-section
of our customers and Executive Directors with our top 20
customers at least annually. These meetings, combined with
the independent customer satisfaction surveys we undertake,
provide an understanding of how our customers’ real estate
needs are developing and provide valuable insight into
the health of the sectors in which they operate.
Examples of topics raised during the year
– communication when we are carrying out development
or fit-out works near to customers;
– delays in implementing permanent solutions to building
issues, with some issues taking too long to resolve;
– timely communication and explanation of service charges
and reconciliations; and
– a desire from customers to work more in partnership
with GPE.
Approach and objectives
Customer First
We know that every business is different, so we provide
choice to allow our customers to create their space the way
they want it. Our Ready to Fit offering provides flexibility
for customers to design and build the space in our buildings
that is just right for them and their people. We provide Fitted
spaces that are designed for our customers by our in-house
experts. Increasingly, customers choose to have their space
Fully Managed by us, where we take care of everything,
making life easier and hassle free so they can concentrate
on their business.
Our customers
Understanding our customers’ businesses and
having a deep appreciation of what they require
enables us to deliver a workplace environment
in which they can focus on their own business
activities. Having a strong, enduring relationship
with our customers means we can work with them
to ensure they remain satisfied within their existing
workspace, and allows us to retain or relocate
them when their occupational requirements
change. Our Customer First approach is vital to
helping us design and deliver spaces and experiences
which allow our customers’ businesses to thrive.
The role of the property owner is rapidly changing
as the needs of customers evolve. An attractive
office is now considered more than simply a location
in which to do business. It serves a broader purpose.
It needs to enhance the productivity of the
workforce, align to a business’ brand and culture
and play a key role in attracting and retaining
talent in a competitive marketplace.
GPE customer mix %
18%
28%
19%
11%
Retail, hospitality
and leisure
Technology, media
and telecoms
Professional
Banking and finance
Corporates
24%
Our key stakeholders have been identified as our investors, people,
customers, joint venture partners, communities, local planning
authorities and suppliers. See more on our people and culture and
engaging with our employees on pages 67 to 72 and 106 to 108
and on our communities on pages 52 and 53
Building and nurturing the relationships we have with our stakeholders is critical to our success
and too valuable to outsource. As a result, we manage all aspects of our property portfolio in-house.
We aim to build lasting relationships based on professionalism, fair dealing and integrity.
73Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our stakeholder relationships continued
Our joint venture partners
Joint ventures are an important part of our business
and today they comprise three active partnerships,
with BP Pension Fund (GRP), the HKMA (GHS) and
Threadneedle (GVP). Our joint ventures are built on
long-term relationships with trusted, high quality
partners. At 31 March 2025, they made up 17.5%
of the portfolio valuation, 25.4% of net assets
and 18.6% of rent roll (at 31 March 2024: 20.4%,
31.0% and 21.4% respectively).
Approach and objectives
Our approach has been to seek joint venture partners to
help us unlock real estate opportunities that might not have
been available to GPE alone, either through sharing risk or
providing access to new properties. The success of our joint
venture activities relies on strong relationships with our
partners, based on frequent engagement. Each partnership
has a joint board (including at least one GPE Executive
Director) that typically meets quarterly on a formal basis
with frequent ad hoc engagement throughout the year.
The joint venture properties are valued quarterly, with
detailed management information being provided to
the joint venture board.
Examples of topics raised during the year
– the response to the insolvency of ISG, who were in the
early stages of refurbishing elements of 200 Gray’s Inn Road,
WC1 in GRP;
– consideration of the renewal of ITN’s lease at 200 Gray’s
Inn Road, WC1 in GRP; and
– implementation of the retail leasing strategy at Mount Royal,
W1 in GVP.
How did we respond
– ISG replaced by Mace to complete the refurbishment works,
with targeted completion moved out to summer 2026;
– new lease with ITN over 117,000 sq ft at an annual rent
of £4.1 million; and
– leasing complete at Mount Royal, including new letting
to Caffe Concerto; two lease renewals planned in the
forthcoming financial year.
Next steps
Looking forward, we are working closely with our partners
to advance our business plans across our existing
joint ventures, together with actively seeking opportunities
to acquire new assets in joint venture structures. We have
also appointed advisers to GHS, ahead of settling the
rent reviews at Hanover Square, W1 later this year.
How did we respond
– created a detailed communication plan and regular
project-related customer meetings to give more visibility
of future works;
– building-by-building action plans to identify and resolve
repeat long-standing issues;
– independent internal audit carried out on service
charge budgets and reconciliation processes and
recommendations implemented; and
– expanded programme of strategic customer meetings
with our senior team to strengthen relationships at
C-suite/founder-level with our customers.
High levels of customer satisfaction
We commission an annual independent customer
satisfaction survey which is designed to determine our
customers’ satisfaction with their building, communication,
our understanding of their business needs and ease of doing
business with us. This year, 133 retail and office customers
participated. A key output of the survey is a Net Promoter
Score (NPS), which is best translated as the willingness to
recommend GPE. It is expressed as an absolute number
between -100 and +100.
Our overall NPS was high at +26.1 for the portfolio as a whole
and +31.2 for the office portfolio which was an improvement
on last year’s score of +30.2. Encouragingly, our NPS score
remains materially ahead of the industry average of +13.6.
From the valuable feedback and comments we receive,
we prepare building-specific action plans to further improve
our services. The plans are produced within four weeks of the
results and implemented as soon as possible, demonstrating
that we have listened and, more importantly, acted
on feedback.
Next steps
Building on last year’s strategic customer meeting programme,
we heard from our customers that they would like to work
in closer partnership with GPE. To this end, our new meeting
strategy will see a broader section of our Executive Committee,
and senior Customer Experience team, meeting with
our customers.
Additionally, our Fully Managed customers will benefit
from the introduction of a new role: the Fully Managed
Customer Retention Lead. This dedicated position focuses
entirely on building and maintaining strong, lasting
relationships with these valued customers.
Customers
operational
measure
Customer satisfaction
(Office Net Promoter Score)
+31.2
2024: +30.2
Joint venture
operational
measure
Net assets in
joint venture
25.4%
2024: 31.0%
74 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Local planning authorities
Developing buildings in central London remains as
challenging as ever. Strict heritage, conservation and
sustainability requirements put significant constraints
on development and can make the planning process
protracted, costly and less predictable. We build
relationships with local authorities and collaborate
with them to maximise site potential and deliver
wider community benefits.
Approach and objectives
Navigating the planning process remains key to our success.
We engage with local authorities, residents and other
stakeholders in an open, transparent and constructive manner
to understand their needs and, where possible, adjust our
proposals to take account of comments received. This helps
us to secure planning consents that are beneficial to us
and the local communities in which they are built. During the
deconstruction and construction phases, we maintain
regular meetings with residents and stakeholders to ensure
we mitigate the impact of the works and aim for our projects
to create a lasting positive social impact in London.
Examples of topics raised during the year
– continued emphasis on sustainability through whole
life carbon and, increasingly, the circular economy;
– increasing local authority preference for retrofit over
new build. Including Westminster City Council setting
carbon tariffs which offer discounts for the most
sustainable proposals; and
– resolution of our plans for New City Court following
planning refusal.
How did we respond
– submitted revised planning at New City Court with
new scheme: St Thomas Yard;
– proactive engagement on scheme design including
incorporating feedback at our Soho Square development;
– maintaining an appropriate balance between retrofit
and new build, including innovative approaches to the
circular economy;
– through industry bodies, we have supported Retrofit First
not Retrofit Only approach; with recognition and adoption
by the City of London and Westminster City Council;
– reviewed and reset ambitious targets for driving down
our whole life carbon emissions;
– continued consultation with local authorities directly
and through business organisations; and
– resident and key local stakeholder consultation during
planning processes.
Next steps
Over the coming year, we will be focused on managing
the procurement and delivery of our near-term projects,
including planning applications for recent acquisitions.
We are also engaging with the GLA over the Mayoral
Development Corporation for Oxford Street to understand
and shape how this will impact our projects that sit within it.
Furthermore, we continue to build on our ‘responsible developer’
credentials and the benefits to our projects including: creation
of employment-generating space, strong sustainability
credentials, social value and biodiversity.
Our suppliers
We work with a diverse range of suppliers, from small
independents to large multinationals. The successful
and profitable delivery of our larger projects requires
strong relationships and collegiate working across
our supply chain. Whilst most procurement is subject
to a tender process to ensure we obtain value for
money, we aim to partner with suppliers who share
our values, work to secure the best people with
an established track record and, where possible,
retain key team members on successive projects.
Approach and objectives
The close relationship we foster with our suppliers, alongside
a track record of successful project delivery and a deep pipeline
of future work, means that people want to work with us,
and ensures that we have good access to quality partners.
For our development, refurbishment and fit-out projects,
regular communication is paramount. This starts with the
design process, where we encourage our project teams to
consider the art of the possible and work with our contractors
to explore new and innovative ways of working. We are
increasingly working with our supply chain partners much
earlier in the design process, including our leasing agents,
to help us to ensure our buildings are optimally designed and,
where appropriate, evolve over the project to remain relevant.
We also aim to treat our suppliers fairly through prompt
payment, including bi-monthly payment terms with some
of our largest contractors. Whilst we expect all our suppliers
to operate to high standards, our Supplier Code of Conduct
sets out the standards that we require. Furthermore, we work
closely with our suppliers to enable us to achieve the goals
set out in each Project Sustainability Plan, using procurement
methods to mitigate our risk profile and carbon impact where
possible. We ensure that the sustainability and social impact
goals of our suppliers are taken into account prior to tendering
works and entering into contracts.
Examples of topics raised during the year
– support for site safety and mental health;
– impacts of inflationary pressures and supply chain disruption;
– how to improve productivity in design, procurement
and construction; and
– greater collaboration to reduce our carbon footprint
and improve social impact.
How did we respond
– 33 days’ average payment terms;
– working with suppliers on information sharing and
initiatives to reduce carbon through the supply chain
(including through our Circular Economy Focus Group);
– encouraged the adoption of the principles of the
Private Sector Playbook; and
– working with suppliers to manage procurement options
and minimise the risk of modern slavery.
Next steps
Continue our collaboration with Bovis to deliver the
redevelopment of 2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2, with Mace
to deliver 30 Duke Street, SW1 and with Multiplex to deliver
Minerva House, SE1. For our refurbishment and fit-out schemes
we continue our great work with Faithdean, BW Interiors,
8Build, Knight Harwood and Mace Interiors and also continue
to expand our contractor base for our near-term schemes.
75Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our stakeholder relationships continued
250+
Investors met during the year
Approach and objectives
Our Investor Relations programme is executed across
a number of geographies, reflecting the international
nature of our share register, and through a variety of routes
including roadshows, meetings at industry conferences,
investor and analyst events, property tours and presentations
to analysts and investment banks’ equity sales teams.
We are also committed to providing investors with regular
announcements of significant events affecting the Group,
including its business activity and financial performance.
These announcements are available on the Group’s website
at www.gpe.co.uk along with results webcasts, analyst
presentations, property videos, press releases and interviews
with the management team.
The Executive Directors and the Director of Financial
Reporting and Investor Relations are the Company’s
principal representatives with investors, analysts, fund
managers, press and other interested parties, and
independent feedback on presentations by the Executive
Directors to shareholders and analysts is provided to
the Board on a regular basis.
We also have regular dialogue with our debt providers,
including relationship banks, private placement investors
and debenture holders and regularly provide feedback
to the Board.
Investor contact by method
121
61
20
202
meetings
Meeting
Conference
Tour
Examples of topics raised in the year
– our view on the markets in which we operate, the opportunity
to capitalise on investment market conditions, together
with the merits of raising capital;
– the interest rate environment and its impact on future
returns from the development pipeline;
– our expectation of rental growth and yields and implications
for forward-look property values;
– the expansion of our Flex offers, our ambition for growth
and their respective financial returns;
– the growing importance of the generalist investor to the
listed real estate sector;
– the challenging planning regime in London and the impact
on the supply of new space;
– the increasing bifurcation between the best space and
the rest, including the importance of sustainability; and
– the disconnect between the strength of the Group’s
operations and weakness in share prices across the
real estate sector.
How did we respond
– completed rights issue and deployed capital through
accretive acquisitions and capex allocation;
– investor feedback was used to shape content of investor
presentations and our communications to the market;
– extensive investor engagement combined with regular
news flow;
– we hosted an Investor and Analyst Flex session online
to provide a deeper dive on our Flex activities;
– we held a series of property tours to showcase a number
of our recent property acquisitions, and Flex deliveries;
– we created a presentation to set out the GPE investment
case targeted at generalist investors;
– 202 virtual and in-person meetings with over 250 shareholders,
and potential shareholders, from over 150 institutions;
– participation in nine industry conferences to meet a large
number of investors on a formal and informal basis; and
– we also held roadshows to meet with investors from London,
Paris, the Netherlands (virtual) and the US and a trip to Asia
to meet investors in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Next steps
Following the announcement of our year-end results,
we will be embarking on our post-results investor relations
programme over the early summer. We will be conducting
in-person roadshows in London and the US, and attending
the Morgan Stanley, Peel Hunt and BNP conferences in London
together with the Kempen conference in the Netherlands.
Our investors
The Board aims to maintain an open relationship
with our investors based on a clear investment
case and transparent disclosure. As a result, we
maintain a regular dialogue with shareholders,
potential shareholders, debt providers and
analysts through a comprehensive investor
relations programme.
76 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Engaging with our stakeholders
You can read more about our approach to s.172(1) matters and stakeholder engagement as follows:
Key decisions and
long-term consequences
Statement from the Chair
See more on page 01
How we create value
See more on pages 05 to 07
Impact on decisions
See more on page 109
Governance introduction from the Chair
See more on pages 95 to 97
What we did in 2024/25
See more on pages 110 and 111
Employees
Our people and culture
See more on pages 67 to 72
Leadership and purpose
See more on pages 104 to 111
Fostering business relationships
with suppliers, customers
and others
Sustainability
See more on pages 42 to 44, 50, 51 and 66
Our stakeholder relationships
See more on pages 73 to 78
Leadership and purpose
See more on page 106
Communities
We are creating a lasting positive
social impact in our communities
See more pages 52, 53 and 75
Leadership and purpose
See more on pages 104 to 106
Environment
Sustainability
See more on pages 39 to 66
Our stakeholder relationships
See more on pages 73 to 76
High standards of
business conduct
Our people and culture
See more on pages 67 to 72
Our stakeholder relationships
See more on pages 73 to 78
Governance introduction from the Chair
See more on pages 95 to 97
Anti-fraud, bribery and corruption,
ethics and whistleblowing
See more on pages 97, 124 and 148
Investors
Governance introduction from the Chair
See more on pages 95 to 97 and 106
Our stakeholder relationships
See more on page 76
Our engagement
Our extensive engagement efforts help to ensure that
the Board can understand, consider and balance broad,
and sometimes conflicting, stakeholder interests when
making decisions to deliver long-term sustainable success.
Every decision the Board makes will not necessarily result in
a positive outcome for all stakeholders; however, the Board
aims to treat stakeholders fairly and consistently, guided
by GPE’s purpose, values and strategic priorities, and the
long-term interests of the Company.
Board processes
While the Board will engage directly with stakeholders
on certain issues, stakeholder engagement will often take
place at an operational level, with the Board receiving regular
updates on stakeholder views from the Executive Directors
and senior management.
As part of our Director induction process, Directors receive
briefing and induction materials regarding their duties
under s.172. Training has further been delivered by the
Company Secretariat team to management to ensure that
they understand the duties of the Board and the importance
of s.172(1) matters in GPE’s strategy discussions and decision
making. Board papers for all key decisions are required
to include a specific section reviewing the impact of the
proposal on relevant stakeholder groups as well as other
s.172(1) considerations.
Page 109 sets out some examples of how the Board has
considered s.172(1) matters in its decision making in 2024/25.
Section 172(1) statement
The Directors have acted in the way that they considered,
in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success
of the Company for the benefit of its members as a whole
and, in doing so, have had regard, amongst other matters,
to those matters set out in section 172(1)(a) to (f) of the
Companies Act 2006, being:
– the likely consequences of any decision in the long term;
– the interests of the Company’s employees;
– the need to foster the Company’s business relationships
with suppliers, customers and others;
– the impact of the Company’s operations on the
community and the environment;
– the desirability of the Company maintaining a reputation
for high standards of business conduct; and
– the need to act fairly as between members of the Company.
Our stakeholders
As explained on pages 73 to 76, GPE has identified its key
stakeholders as being its: investors, people, customers, joint
venture partners, communities, local planning authorities
and suppliers. Building and nurturing these relationships
based on professionalism, fair dealing and integrity is critical
to our success.
77Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Non-financial and sustainability information statement
This table is disclosed on a voluntary basis and signposts relevant non-financial and sustainability information in this report
and further reading on our website.
Reporting area
1
Policies Website Reference in 2025 Annual Report
1. Environmental
and sustainability
matters
Sustainability Policy Statement
Our Brief for Creating
Sustainable Spaces
Our Guiding Principles of Design
Sustainability Statement of Intent
Our Roadmap to Net Zero
Task Force on Climate-related
Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
Streamlined Energy and Carbon
Reporting (SECR) disclosure
www.gpe.co.uk/sustainability
www.gpe.co.uk/sustainability/
our-approach
www.gpe.co.uk/investors/
investment-case/our-guiding-
principles
See more about sustainability
on pages 39 to 66
See our SECR disclosures
on pages 46 to 49
See our response to the
TCFD Recommendations
on pages 55 to 65
Additional information in response
to the requirements of s414CB(2A)
climate-related financial
disclosures (a–h) can be found
on pages 39 to 41, 44 to 49
and 55 to 65
2. Employees
Our values
Diversity Policy
Our People Strategy and Diversity
& Inclusion Plan
Personal Development Plans
www.gpe.co.uk/our-people/
our-values
www.gpe.co.uk/investors/
governance
www.gpe.co.uk/our-people/
diversity-inclusion
www.gpe.co.uk/our-people
See more about our values
on pages 07, 67, 104 and 105
See more about our people and
culture on pages 67 to 72, 104, 105
and 112 to 117
See more about diversity and inclusion
on pages 69 to 72 and 114 to 115
3. Human rights
Supplier Code of Conduct
Annual Modern Slavery Statement
www.gpe.co.uk/investors/
our-relationships/our-service-
partners
www.gpe.co.uk/our-modern-
slavery-statement
See more about how we behave,
human rights and supplier stewardship
on page 148
See more about mitigating
the risk of modern slavery
on pages 75 and 97
See more about our suppliers
on page 75
4. Social
Social Impact Strategy
Creating Sustainable
Relationships
GPE Standard Supply Terms
Health and Safety Policy
www.gpe.co.uk/sustainability
www.gpe.co.uk/investors/our-
relationships/our-service-partners
www.gpe.co.uk/health-safety
See more about our stakeholder
relationships on pages 73 to 77
See more about communities
on pages 50, 52, 53 and 75
See more about our Social Impact
Strategy on pages 52 and 53
See more about our suppliers
on pages 42 to 44, 66 and 75
See more about providing safe,
healthy and secure environments
on pages 50 and 51
5. Anti-corruption
and anti-bribery
Financial Crime Policy
Ethics and Whistleblowing Policies
Gifts and Hospitality Policy
Use of GPE Suppliers Policy
Conflicts of Interest Policy
Inside Information and
Share Dealing Policy
www.gpe.co.uk/investors/
governance
See more about anti-corruption
and anti-bribery matters
on pages 124 and 148
See more about our Financial Crime,
Ethics and Whistleblowing Policies
on pages 119, 123, 124 and 148
6. Business model
www.gpe.co.uk/why-gpe/
our-brand
www.gpe.co.uk/investors/
investment-case
See more about how we create value
on pages 05 to 07
7. Principal risks
and uncertainties
Group Risk Management Policy www.gpe.co.uk/investors/
governance
www.gpe.co.uk/investors/
investment-case/our-strategy
See more about our approach to risk
on pages 80 to 93
8. Non-financial
key performance
indicators
www.gpe.co.uk/investors/
investment-case/key-
performance-indicators
See more about our KPIs
on pages 10 and 11
See more about our near-term
strategic priorities
on pages 08 and 09
1. Board oversight of these policies and matters is also covered through ‘What we did in 2024/25’ on pages 110 to 111.
Engaging with our stakeholders continued
78 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Our approach to risk
Viability statement
Assessment of the Group’s prospects
In accordance with Provision 31 of the 2018 UK Corporate Governance
Code, the Board has assessed the prospects of the Group over a
longer period than the 12 months required by the ‘Going Concern’
provision. The work conducted for this longer-term assessment
supports the Board’s statements on both viability, as set out below,
and going concern, as set out on page 156.
The Group’s future prospects are assessed regularly and at
an annual strategy review in early April. This review is led by the
Chief Executive drawing on expertise across the Group. This year
it included an assessment of the macro-economic environment,
forecasts of key property market metrics (including yields and
rental value movements), annual valuation movements for
each of our properties, the financial metrics associated with
our Flex offerings, the costs associated with meeting emerging
sustainability regulations and a selection of development scenarios.
It also included a number of market assumptions, including base,
upside and downside scenarios, to reflect different potential
economic outcomes, including further disruption from political and
economic uncertainty, and a number of business activity responses,
including development activity, sales and acquisitions.
The key outputs from this process are full financial statements
for a five-year forecast period, with a primary focus on the
first three years. The forecasts are summarised in a dashboard,
which analyses profits, cash flows, funding requirements, key
financial ratios, compliance with the REIT rules and headroom
in respect of the financial covenants contained in the Group’s
various loan arrangements. The strategy review was considered
by the Board in April 2025, with updated forecasts, including
a severe but plausible downside scenario to reflect the impact
on the Group of a decline in property values.
The forecast was presented to the Board in May and contained
a number of assumptions, including:
– estimated year-on-year movements in rental values and
yields for each of our properties under a number of scenarios;
– the continued conversion of some of our office space
to our Flex offerings;
– the refinancing of the Group’s existing debt facilities as
they fall due, including its £75 million term loan maturing
in September 2026 and its revolving credit facilities maturing
in January 2027 and October 2027, as disclosed in note 16;
– a number of sales and acquisition scenarios with appropriate
new debt facilities to support growth;
– the completion of the Group’s committed development
programme in line with our most recent estimated
completion dates and the commencement of certain
pipeline projects; and
– forecast interest rates.
Assessment of risks
The Group’s principal risks are subject to regular review by the
Executive Committee, the Audit Committee and the Board.
The review conducted for the preparation of the Annual Report
and the viability statement demonstrated limited change in
our principal risks over the year.
The risks with the greatest potential impact on the Group’s
viability were considered as follows (see pages 84 to 93 below):
– London attractiveness: we rely on London’s magnetism
and relative appeal to other financial centres to continue
to attract global capital, businesses and talent from around
the world to support demand for our properties;
– Adverse macro-economic environment: a challenging
economic backdrop could instigate financial stress in our
key markets, materially reducing property values, and the
viability of Group’s developments, and impairing the Group’s
income, risking a breach of our banking covenants; and
– Climate change and decarbonisation: a changing climate
could impact the resilience of our buildings, impact our
ability to deliver new developments and reduce the demand
for the buildings we own.
Assessment of viability
A three-year viability period is considered an optimum balance
between our need to plan for the long term and the shorter-term
nature of our active business model, which often includes high
levels of recycling of our property portfolio, an average lease
length of around three years and a near-term development
programme which will be commenced over the same period.
The assessment of viability included stress testing the resilience
of the Group, and its business model, to the potential impact of
the risks set out above. Specifically, given the ongoing macro-
economic uncertainty, elevated interest rates and disrupted global
trading arrangements, our assessment of viability was based on
the Group’s performance under a severe but plausible downside
market scenario, with further sensitivity analysis to understand
the resilience of the Group to a significant economic shock.
The severe but plausible downside scenario reduced rental values
across both offices and retail by 10% and assumed an outward
yield shift of 50 basis points. When combined, over the three-
year period this scenario reduced property values by around 12%,
with a 26% peak to trough from 31 March 2022. The assessment
demonstrated that, given the Group’s low levels of debt and high
liquidity, along with targeted capital recycling, it would be able
to withstand the impact of this scenario over the period of the
financial forecast and continue to operate with headroom above
the financial covenants contained in its various loan arrangements.
Moreover, this was before any mitigating actions such as the
pausing of capital expenditure across the Group’s development
and refurbishment programme.
In addition, reverse stress tests were performed, to understand
how extensive any valuation and income fall would be required to
extinguish the Group’s liquidity and/or breach the Group’s gearing,
interest cover ratio or inner borrowing covenants. In the three-year
period, before any mitigating actions, rental income would need
to fall by an additional 22% and property values would need to fall
by a further 64% given targeted recycling activities, before the
Group breached its banking covenants.
The assessment also included a review of the potential impact of
climate change on the Group. Whilst it would be unlikely to affect
the viability of the Group within the three-year review period,
we ran a scenario to assess the impact of significant increases
in the cost of development to meet sustainability requirements
(an additional 5% on our committed development capex).
This did not impact our viability assessment.
Viability statement
Based on the Board’s assessments, the Directors confirm that
they have a reasonable expectation that the Group will be able
to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due
over the three-year period ending 31 March 2028.
79Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our approach to risk continued
The successful management of risk is critical for the
Group to deliver its strategic priorities. Whilst the ultimate
responsibility for risk management rests with the Board,
the effective day-to-day management of risk is integral
to the way we do business and the culture of our team.
Our attitude to risk is one of collective responsibility, with the
identification and management of risks and opportunities
being part of the mindset of the GPE team. Our organisational
structure, including close involvement of senior management
in all significant decisions and in-house management of our
development, portfolio and occupational service activities,
together with our prudent and analytical approach, is designed
to align the Group’s interests with those of shareholders.
Setting and monitoring our ‘risk appetite’
The Group’s overarching risk appetite is set in the context that we
focus on a single market, that of central London, operating out of
a single head office within close proximity to all of our activities.
Central London’s real estate markets have historically been
highly cyclical and, as a result, we apply a disciplined approach
to our capital allocation and managing our operational risk,
in particular our development exposure, in tune with prevailing
market conditions. Furthermore, we aim to operate with low
financial risk by maintaining conservative financial leverage.
Further details regarding our management of financial risks can
be found in note 17 to the financial statements on page 176.
We use a suite of key operational parameters as an important
tool to set and then measure the Group’s risk profile. These
parameters consider, amongst other matters, the Group’s
size, financial gearing, interest and fixed charge cover, level
of speculative and total development exposure, level of Flex
exposure and single asset concentration risk. These parameters
are revisited annually as part of the Board’s strategy review
and are regularly reviewed at Board meetings. We monitor
the Group’s actual and forecast position over a five-year
period against these parameters.
We set a target risk position for each of our principal risks to
determine whether the net risk position of each principal risk
is within the Board’s risk appetite level, and to determine any
appropriate risk response.
Our risk culture and how we manage our risks
Our overarching risk management process comprises four
main stages, as summarised in the diagram below. We believe
that effective management of risk is based on a top-down and
Risk identification
– Identification and description of
significant and emerging risks that
could affect GPE’s key objectives
– Risks categorised with assignment
of accountabilities and executive
ownership of principal risks
Risk monitoring, reporting and escalation
– Risks documented, reported and monitored
on a regular basis by management,
Executive Committee, Audit Committee
and Board
– New risks and significant changes to
risk profiles escalated as appropriate
Risk assessment
– Potential impact and likelihood of
risk assessed using defined criteria
– Principal risks assessed on a gross,
net and target risk basis
Risk response
– Appropriate response determined
with reference to risk appetite
– Risk response may include Treat,
Transfer, Terminate or Tolerate
bottom-up approach with appropriate controls and oversight,
as outlined on page 81, which include:
– our strategy setting process;
– the quality of our people and culture;
– established procedures and internal controls;
– policies for highlighting and controlling risks;
– oversight by the Board, Committees and management; and
– ongoing review of market conditions and the property cycle.
Moreover, risk management is an integral part of all our activities.
We consider risks and, more positively, where these might
also provide opportunities, as part of every business decision
we make, including how they would affect the achievement
of our strategic priorities and the long-term performance
of our business.
Six-monthly assessment of principal and emerging
risks, opportunities and effectiveness of controls
The Board is responsible for monitoring the Company’s risk
management and internal control systems. As part of a robust
assessment of the principal and emerging risks facing the Group,
at the half year and year end, the Executive Committee, Audit
Committee and Board formally review the Group’s principal and
emerging risks, including those that would threaten its business
model, future performance, solvency or liquidity and reputation.
Importantly, part of this review is the consideration of:
– the internal operational controls in place to mitigate
the principal risks, how key controls have operated in
the preceding six months and additional activities and
controls to further reduce risks where desirable, including
any instances where net risk assessments may exceed
the target risk position;
– consideration of emerging risks and opportunities; and
– the Board’s ongoing monitoring of these risks.
Whilst emerging risks and opportunities are considered
as part of this formal six-monthly assessment, the Board
spends additional time at scheduled Board meetings on
‘blue sky’ thinking and consideration of possible emerging
risks. Executive Committee members are tasked to provide
a summary in their regular Board updates of the key areas
concerning and exciting them the most. We also ask our
functional Directors and Heads of Department the same
question to continually challenge ourselves as to how
we should evolve. Emerging risks are also considered by
the Board as part of its annual strategy review. Further
information on emerging risks can be found on page 83.
1
4
2
3
Communication
and consultation
80 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Business risk
Nomination Committee Audit Committee
The Board
Remuneration Committee
Weekly/Monthly
Development management
Portfolio management
Investment management
Financial management
Customer experience & relationships
Inclusion Committee
Technology project steering group
Quarterly
Health and Safety Committee
Development management review
Portfolio management review
Sustainability Committee
Social impact Committee
High-level risk assessment
framework
Strict approval requirements
Extensive documentation
to support decisions
Formal policies and procedures
consistently applied
Defined performance indicators
with sensitivity analysis
External review of key
controls/internal audit
Observations from the
external auditor
Whistleblowing Policy
Focused market expertise
Open communication
Transparent disclosure
with stakeholders
Integrity in business conduct
Interests aligned with shareholders
Qualified and experienced
personnel with specific roles
Dedicated Development,
Portfolio Management, Leasing,
Flex, Investment and
Customer Experience teams
Conservative attitude
to capital deployment
Analytical rigour
Investment return benchmarks
Debt leverage, covenant
compliance and liquidity limits
Regular review of business plans,
dashboard lead indicators
and operational parameters
Occupancy targets
Development appraisal parameters
Leasing objectives and
customer covenant testing
Board oversight of risk
Operational oversight
Executive Committee
People and culture
guided by our values
Procedures and
internal controls
Policies for highlighting
and controlling risk
81Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our approach to risk continued
The Board and the Audit Committee have overseen the
Company’s response to macro-economic uncertainty and
geopolitical tensions which have persisted throughout the year.
This has included actions taken to mitigate risks but also to
position GPE to take advantage of the opportunities arising
from uncertain markets and the evolution of the property
cycle. In June 2024, we completed a £350 million rights issue
and accretively deployed the proceeds to capitalise on
opportunities in investment markets at an inflection point
in the property cycle. In September 2024, we also issued a
£250 million sustainable bond to support the development
of our best-in-class schemes.
Significant macro-economic risks and geopolitical tensions
remain, including those arising from evolving international
trade and tariff arrangements, Russia’s war in Ukraine, conflict
in the Middle East and tensions between India and Pakistan.
The Board and Audit Committee continue to monitor the
potential impacts for the UK economy, our operations and
London’s attractiveness. Further details on market impacts
can be found in Our markets on pages 23 and 24 and our
viability statement on page 79.
Our principal risks remain largely unchanged from the prior
year, although we have since revised the descriptions and
assessments of some of our principal risks to reflect how
they evolved over the past 12 months. Key changes include
the following:
– we are undertaking significant refurbishments across the
portfolio, particularly as we convert many of our spaces into
our premium Flex product in response to customer demand.
The ‘Failure to meet customer needs’ risk description
has therefore been updated to incorporate the risk that
poor management of our refurbishment activities could
materially impact the experiences of existing, in-occupation
customers at our buildings, which could result in the loss of
customers, income and returns. Our refurbishment activities
are therefore managed through proactive engagement
with customers and our disruption mitigation strategies;
– our risk assessment of the ‘Adverse macro-economic
environment’ has now increased due to greater volatility
arising from US tariffs and international trade arrangements
and, as a result, the heightened risks of weak growth and
a global and/or UK recession. This situation continues to
evolve and is being closely monitored;
– ongoing macro uncertainty has continued to impact market
sentiment and the appetite of some investors for listed real
estate company shares, resulting in a persistent disconnect
between share prices and underlying performance. As such,
the ‘Adverse macro-economic environment’ risk has also
been updated to capture how lower attractiveness of our
sector and our shares could impact our ability to access
equity capital. We continue to have conviction in our
strategy and work to deliver performance and drive value
for our shareholders;
– our ‘London attractiveness’ risk description has been
updated to incorporate the risk of a reduced appetite
amongst high-net worth individuals to live in London,
compared to alternative locations, due to changes to
non-domicile and other tax rules. Nevertheless, we believe
that London’s attraction as a global cultural and business
centre remains strong and our overall assessment of
this risk remains unchanged from the prior year;
Likelihood
Low Medium High
Low HighMedium
Impact
Principal risk
1 Failure to meet customer needs
2 Climate change and decarbonisation
3 London attractiveness
4 Adverse macro-economic environment
5 Poor capital allocation decisions and/or
misreading market conditions
6 Failure to profitably deliver the development
and/or refurbishment programme
7 People
8 Health and safety
9 Cyber security and infrastructure failure
10 Failure to profitably deliver the Flex Strategy
Net risk heatmap
2
3
4
5
7
Net risk rating as assessed after existing controls and mitigation
1
Risk severity
MediumLow High
9
10
1
8
6
82 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
– at the half year, we updated our ‘Poor capital allocation
decisions and/or misreading market conditions’ risk
to expressly reference risks attached to our appropriate
investment of the proceeds from our rights issue. Following the
deployment of the proceeds, we have removed this reference
in the risk description and we now expect our buying and
selling activity to become more balanced as we look to sell
some of our more mature assets;
– we continue to assess the potential impacts of evolving
international trade arrangements on our supply chain and
inflation. We have therefore captured this risk in our ‘Failure
to profitably deliver the development and/or refurbishment
programme’ risk;
– the implementation of our planned new finance and
property management system is a significant project for
the Group. Our ‘Cyber security and infrastructure failure’ risk
has therefore been updated to incorporate the potential
implementation risks associated with this project; and
– the ‘Failure to profitably deliver the Flex strategy’ risk has
been updated to reflect our focus on customer retention
to control costs and drive returns.
A description of the Group’s principal risks, and a summary
of the key controls and steps taken to mitigate those risks,
is shown on pages 84 to 93. The likelihood and impact of each
principal risk is assessed on a gross, net (taking account of the
Group’s existing controls and mitigations) and target risk basis
(to determine whether the net risk position is within the Board’s
appetite level). The net risk assessment for each principal risk
is shown on the heatmap on page 82.
The Board’s ongoing monitoring of the
Group’s principal risks and controls
Ongoing monitoring of our principal risks and controls by the
Board is undertaken through:
– relatively low levels of authority for transactions requiring
Board approval, with investment transactions and
development approvals requiring, amongst other matters,
consideration of the impact on financial leverage, interest
cover and portfolio risk/composition;
– the Executive Committee’s oversight of all day-to-day
significant decisions;
– the Chief Executive reporting on the market conditions
dashboard, operational parameters, sustainability and
customer experience activities, as appropriate, at each
scheduled Board meeting;
– members of the Executive Committee regularly providing
a review of the development programme, occupational
markets and key property matters to the Board;
– the Chief Financial & Operating Officer reporting on Group
forecasts, including actual and prospective leverage metrics,
HR, Flex, digital and technology, corporate communication
and social impact matters at scheduled Board meetings;
– the Executive Director reporting on the customer watch
list and delinquencies, voids and vacancy rates, health
and safety matters and investment market developments
and opportunities at scheduled Board meetings;
– the Executive Directors communicating with the Board
on any significant market and operational matters between
Board meetings;
– senior managers attending the Board and Committee
meetings as appropriate to discuss specific risks across the
business, such as sustainability, customer experience, health
and safety, regulatory, people, technology and cyber risks,
or relating to transactions;
– the Audit Committee meeting with the valuers at least
twice a year to better understand market conditions and
challenge the assumptions underlying the valuation; and
– the Audit Committee receiving internal audit reports
on key risk and control areas and observations from the
external auditor.
Board consideration of emerging risks
As explained on page 80, the Board regularly considers
emerging risks and opportunities which could impact the
business. Whilst risks relating to structural market changes
and short- and medium-term climate change are considered
within our principal risks, we have also spent time discussing
emerging risks across a number of themes, examples of
which are set out below:
– technological advances including artificial intelligence,
the emergence of the metaverse and other disruptive
technologies, could impact the quantum and nature of
demand for work space in central London. Failure to evolve
quickly enough could also result in the loss of customers
to competitors. Our Digital, Technology & Innovation
Strategy is designed to identify innovation opportunities
for GPE to enhance its offer and demand;
– the long-term impacts of climate change could impact
the ability to travel to, live, work and shop in central
London. Our approach to climate resilience is set out in our
Sustainability Statement of Intent, Roadmap to Net Zero
and Our Brief for Creating Sustainable Spaces;
– deglobalisation resulting from geopolitical tensions could
lead to recognised world centres becoming less relevant,
which could impact London’s status as a capital city and
global gateway. Geopolitical risks, along with potential
global trade wars, could restrict capital flows, adversely
impact investment markets and impact the availability
of materials, labour and energy security. The availability
of labour in construction could be further limited by the
introduction of more restrictive immigration policies;
– changes to tax and economic policies to reduce the UK
deficit could result in increases in sales taxes, stamp duty,
business rates and corporation tax and adversely impact the
real estate market, occupier demand and GPE returns; and
– increasing regulation, reporting and assurance requirements
could increase operational costs and constrain resources,
impacting returns.
83Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our approach to risk continued
How we manage principal risks and uncertainties
Principal risk
Strategic priorities
2025/26 How we monitor and manage risk
Net risk movement
over the last 12 months Commentary
Failure to meet customer needs
We fail to identify and react
effectively to shifting patterns of
workspace use and/or understand
and provide spaces that meet
quickly evolving customer needs,
including potential longer-term
structural changes in working and/
or retail practices that change the
level and nature of demand for
space in central London. This could
lead to GPE failing to deliver space
and lease terms that customers
want and/or an inappropriate mix
of Flex versus traditional space,
resulting in poor investment returns,
potentially stranded assets and
losing customers to competitors.
Our inability to manage the impact
of our refurbishment activities on
customers could also result in the loss
of customers, income and returns.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
2
Enhance
portfolio
through sales
and acquisitions
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– HQ repositioning and Flex office strategy to meet evolving customer demand.
Board annual strategy review, including market updates received from
third parties.
– Quarterly review of individual property business plans and the market
more generally.
– Portfolio Management, Development, Leasing, Flex and Customer Experience
quarterly updates to the Executive Committee with reporting at scheduled
Board meetings.
– Board and management review of GPE’s flexible space offer across the portfolio,
including broadening our product offer and performance against KPIs.
– The Group’s in-house Customer Experience team has proactive engagement with
customers to understand their occupational needs and requirements with a focus
on retaining income, including through meetings and regular customer surveys
which help us track our Net Promoter Score. Includes proactive communication
with customers to manage the impacts of building works and refurbishments.
– Cross-functional customer and building action plans are regularly reviewed
to align the customer strategy with customer needs.
– Programme of engagement for members of the Executive Committee to
meet with a selection of customers across the portfolio at least once a year.
– Working with potential customers to address their needs and aspirations
during design stages of projects.
– Board and management oversight of the development and implementation
of our Digital, Technology and Innovation Strategy and related initiatives.
– Design (supported by a specialist fit-out team) and innovation activities in
the areas of sustainability, technology, wellbeing and experience.
– Customer First programme and strategy in place, with dedicated leadership,
relationship management and insights capabilities supported by our
customer relationship management system and agent portal and to help
mitigate void risks. Customer service proposition and standards in place
to ensure consistency when delivering the strategy.
– Newly created Fully Managed Customer Retention Lead role to maximise
retention rates.
– ‘We value every customer’ corporate value adopted to reflect and reinforce
our Customer First approach.
No change
With hybrid working here to stay, and customers having more choice about where they work, our spaces need to provide
compelling reasons to come into the office. With average office rents only c.5%–8% of a typical London business salary
cost, and the office environment a key tool in attracting and retaining talent, we anticipate that competition for the
very best spaces will remain healthy. We continue to witness a growing divergence between the prospects of the best
spaces versus the rest, and we believe this is set to widen further as customers seek out sustainable and well-designed,
prime spaces, of which there is a marked shortage, particularly in the West End.
Our strategy of focusing on premium spaces, both through our development of large, best-in-class HQ buildings and smaller
fitted units, often with higher service levels, is underpinned by the need to meet the evolving demands of our customers.
To ensure we are delivering the spaces our customers want, we have continued to develop our Customer First approach
and embed this into our culture and across our business operations.
Testament to our approach, we had a strong leasing year, completing 74 new leases and renewals, and securing
£37.7 million of rent at a 10.6% premium to March 2024 ERVs, whilst continuing the successful roll-out of our flexible space
offering. Furthermore, in May 2025, we pre-let the entirety of the office space at 30 Duke Street, SW1 to leading global
investment firm CD&R (see page 14 for further details).
We continue to design and innovate in the areas of sustainability, technology, wellbeing and service provision. We have
further expanded our flexible offerings in line with quickly evolving customer demand, including the further roll-out of our
Fully Managed offer, including building launches at SIX St Andrew Street, EC4 and 31/34 Alfred Place, WC1. Furthermore,
we acquired two new buildings during the year to augment our Fully Managed portfolio and we remain opportunistic
regarding future acquisitions. Together with potential acquisitions, we are aiming to expand our Flex office offering
to more than one million sq ft.
A close relationship with our customers is vital to our success. We were pleased by this year’s independent customer
satisfaction survey, which updated our understanding of how our customers view their buildings and the services we
provide. Our portfolio Net Promoter Score remained high at +26.1, significantly above the industry average of +13.6.
Climate change and decarbonisation
The need to decarbonise our business
increases the cost of our activities
through the need to retro-fit buildings to
improve their sustainability credentials
(e.g. minimum energy efficiency
standards and building ratings) and
make them resilient to the impact of
climate change. This also reduces our
ability to redevelop due to planning
restrictions, increased regulation
(including additional reporting
obligations and costs) and stakeholder
expectations, the increased cost
of low carbon technology/materials
(including utilisation of the circular
economy) and potentially the pricing
of carbon. Failure to meet the climate
challenge could impact our ability
to raise capital and deliver buildings,
reduce the demand for the buildings
we own, cause significant reputational
damage and result in exposure to
environmental activism and potentially
stranded assets.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
2
Enhance
portfolio
through sales
and acquisitions
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Regular Board and Executive Committee review of Sustainability Policy
and response to climate risk.
– Sustainability Committee meets quarterly to consider strategy in respect
of sustainability and climate-related risks. Its Portfolio and Development
sub-committees meet regularly and report to the Sustainability Committee
on progress.
– Social Impact Committee meets quarterly to oversee the delivery of our
Social Impact Strategy.
– Dedicated Sustainability and Social Impact Director on the Executive
Committee supported by Sustainability Lead.
– Updated Roadmap to Net Zero with challenging embodied carbon and energy
intensity targets. Decarbonisation Fund and internal carbon price established to
support initiatives including energy efficiency retro-fitting in existing buildings.
– Sustainability Implementation Plan in place, informed by priorities identified
through double materiality and physical risk assessments.
– Circularity Score targets to reduce the use of virgin materials in developments
and major refurbishments.
– Design Review meetings to review design brief for all buildings to ensure that
forthcoming sustainability risks are considered. Sustainable Spaces Brief
and Sustainability Strategy in place with climate resilience strategy.
– ESG-linked RCF and term loan and annual bonus measures to support delivery
of decarbonisation and reduction in energy consumption within the business.
– Sustainable Finance Committee oversight of our Sustainable Finance
Framework and sustainable debt instruments.
– Programme of ESG investor engagement in place, with regular review
of reporting requirements and participation in investor indices.
– Steering group to assess, manage and monitor EPC risks across the portfolio
both to estimate compliance costs and to inform our buy, hold and sell
strategy and decisions.
– GPE Circular Economy Focus Group and participation in industry bodies
to influence policy and drive innovation.
No change
With the built environment contributing approximately 40% of the UK’s carbon footprint and the climate change debate
being both a moral and economic imperative, particularly for our customers and other stakeholders, we have been
further expanding our sustainability commitments and activities. In May 2024, we adopted our Roadmap to Net Zero
v.2.0, setting out our increased ambitions to reduce our carbon impacts and revised timelines in which to achieve them.
During the year, we completed a double materiality assessment to ensure we are focusing on the risks that matter most
to our business, as well as a physical risk assessment of the portfolio to identity priority areas over different time horizons.
These exercises have informed our internal Sustainability Implementation Plan to operationalise our sustainability
priorities. We also launched a Circularity Score and set ourselves targets to increase the reuse of materials in our
developments and major refurbishments. For further details, see pages 39 to 66.
Our Sustainable Finance Framework, which was updated in the year, governs our debt issuances, with the aim of
financing projects that have a positive environmental and/or social impact. During the year, under this framework, we
issued our first £250 million seven-year sustainable bond. This builds on our ESG-linked RCF and term loan, which include
targets to reduce embodied carbon from our new developments and major refurbishments and to improve biodiversity
across our portfolio. The rate of interest we pay on our RCF depends on our performance against these targets.
Furthermore, sustainability targets have been included within the annual bonus scorecard for all colleagues and are
being used to assess levels of remuneration. The progress made against the 2024/25 annual targets, is set out on
pages 11, 43, 45, 49 and 133.
We continue to work to improve the number of our buildings rated for their sustainability credentials. The UK Government
has previously announced its intention that all buildings will require an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of
B or above by 2030 and we await updates regarding this legislation. As a result, we have created individual asset plans
to proactively improve our EPC ratings to meet government and broader stakeholder expectations, to assess potential
exposures and inform our hold/sell strategies.
We expect the sustainability challenge to provide us with further potential opportunities to acquire orphaned assets
needing a sustainability solution.
84 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Principal risk
Strategic priorities
2025/26 How we monitor and manage risk
Net risk movement
over the last 12 months Commentary
Failure to meet customer needs
We fail to identify and react
effectively to shifting patterns of
workspace use and/or understand
and provide spaces that meet
quickly evolving customer needs,
including potential longer-term
structural changes in working and/
or retail practices that change the
level and nature of demand for
space in central London. This could
lead to GPE failing to deliver space
and lease terms that customers
want and/or an inappropriate mix
of Flex versus traditional space,
resulting in poor investment returns,
potentially stranded assets and
losing customers to competitors.
Our inability to manage the impact
of our refurbishment activities on
customers could also result in the loss
of customers, income and returns.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
2
Enhance
portfolio
through sales
and acquisitions
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– HQ repositioning and Flex office strategy to meet evolving customer demand.
Board annual strategy review, including market updates received from
third parties.
– Quarterly review of individual property business plans and the market
more generally.
– Portfolio Management, Development, Leasing, Flex and Customer Experience
quarterly updates to the Executive Committee with reporting at scheduled
Board meetings.
– Board and management review of GPE’s flexible space offer across the portfolio,
including broadening our product offer and performance against KPIs.
– The Group’s in-house Customer Experience team has proactive engagement with
customers to understand their occupational needs and requirements with a focus
on retaining income, including through meetings and regular customer surveys
which help us track our Net Promoter Score. Includes proactive communication
with customers to manage the impacts of building works and refurbishments.
– Cross-functional customer and building action plans are regularly reviewed
to align the customer strategy with customer needs.
– Programme of engagement for members of the Executive Committee to
meet with a selection of customers across the portfolio at least once a year.
– Working with potential customers to address their needs and aspirations
during design stages of projects.
– Board and management oversight of the development and implementation
of our Digital, Technology and Innovation Strategy and related initiatives.
– Design (supported by a specialist fit-out team) and innovation activities in
the areas of sustainability, technology, wellbeing and experience.
– Customer First programme and strategy in place, with dedicated leadership,
relationship management and insights capabilities supported by our
customer relationship management system and agent portal and to help
mitigate void risks. Customer service proposition and standards in place
to ensure consistency when delivering the strategy.
– Newly created Fully Managed Customer Retention Lead role to maximise
retention rates.
– ‘We value every customer’ corporate value adopted to reflect and reinforce
our Customer First approach.
No change
With hybrid working here to stay, and customers having more choice about where they work, our spaces need to provide
compelling reasons to come into the office. With average office rents only c.5%–8% of a typical London business salary
cost, and the office environment a key tool in attracting and retaining talent, we anticipate that competition for the
very best spaces will remain healthy. We continue to witness a growing divergence between the prospects of the best
spaces versus the rest, and we believe this is set to widen further as customers seek out sustainable and well-designed,
prime spaces, of which there is a marked shortage, particularly in the West End.
Our strategy of focusing on premium spaces, both through our development of large, best-in-class HQ buildings and smaller
fitted units, often with higher service levels, is underpinned by the need to meet the evolving demands of our customers.
To ensure we are delivering the spaces our customers want, we have continued to develop our Customer First approach
and embed this into our culture and across our business operations.
Testament to our approach, we had a strong leasing year, completing 74 new leases and renewals, and securing
£37.7 million of rent at a 10.6% premium to March 2024 ERVs, whilst continuing the successful roll-out of our flexible space
offering. Furthermore, in May 2025, we pre-let the entirety of the office space at 30 Duke Street, SW1 to leading global
investment firm CD&R (see page 14 for further details).
We continue to design and innovate in the areas of sustainability, technology, wellbeing and service provision. We have
further expanded our flexible offerings in line with quickly evolving customer demand, including the further roll-out of our
Fully Managed offer, including building launches at SIX St Andrew Street, EC4 and 31/34 Alfred Place, WC1. Furthermore,
we acquired two new buildings during the year to augment our Fully Managed portfolio and we remain opportunistic
regarding future acquisitions. Together with potential acquisitions, we are aiming to expand our Flex office offering
to more than one million sq ft.
A close relationship with our customers is vital to our success. We were pleased by this year’s independent customer
satisfaction survey, which updated our understanding of how our customers view their buildings and the services we
provide. Our portfolio Net Promoter Score remained high at +26.1, significantly above the industry average of +13.6.
Climate change and decarbonisation
The need to decarbonise our business
increases the cost of our activities
through the need to retro-fit buildings to
improve their sustainability credentials
(e.g. minimum energy efficiency
standards and building ratings) and
make them resilient to the impact of
climate change. This also reduces our
ability to redevelop due to planning
restrictions, increased regulation
(including additional reporting
obligations and costs) and stakeholder
expectations, the increased cost
of low carbon technology/materials
(including utilisation of the circular
economy) and potentially the pricing
of carbon. Failure to meet the climate
challenge could impact our ability
to raise capital and deliver buildings,
reduce the demand for the buildings
we own, cause significant reputational
damage and result in exposure to
environmental activism and potentially
stranded assets.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
2
Enhance
portfolio
through sales
and acquisitions
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Regular Board and Executive Committee review of Sustainability Policy
and response to climate risk.
– Sustainability Committee meets quarterly to consider strategy in respect
of sustainability and climate-related risks. Its Portfolio and Development
sub-committees meet regularly and report to the Sustainability Committee
on progress.
– Social Impact Committee meets quarterly to oversee the delivery of our
Social Impact Strategy.
– Dedicated Sustainability and Social Impact Director on the Executive
Committee supported by Sustainability Lead.
– Updated Roadmap to Net Zero with challenging embodied carbon and energy
intensity targets. Decarbonisation Fund and internal carbon price established to
support initiatives including energy efficiency retro-fitting in existing buildings.
– Sustainability Implementation Plan in place, informed by priorities identified
through double materiality and physical risk assessments.
– Circularity Score targets to reduce the use of virgin materials in developments
and major refurbishments.
– Design Review meetings to review design brief for all buildings to ensure that
forthcoming sustainability risks are considered. Sustainable Spaces Brief
and Sustainability Strategy in place with climate resilience strategy.
– ESG-linked RCF and term loan and annual bonus measures to support delivery
of decarbonisation and reduction in energy consumption within the business.
– Sustainable Finance Committee oversight of our Sustainable Finance
Framework and sustainable debt instruments.
– Programme of ESG investor engagement in place, with regular review
of reporting requirements and participation in investor indices.
– Steering group to assess, manage and monitor EPC risks across the portfolio
both to estimate compliance costs and to inform our buy, hold and sell
strategy and decisions.
– GPE Circular Economy Focus Group and participation in industry bodies
to influence policy and drive innovation.
No change
With the built environment contributing approximately 40% of the UK’s carbon footprint and the climate change debate
being both a moral and economic imperative, particularly for our customers and other stakeholders, we have been
further expanding our sustainability commitments and activities. In May 2024, we adopted our Roadmap to Net Zero
v.2.0, setting out our increased ambitions to reduce our carbon impacts and revised timelines in which to achieve them.
During the year, we completed a double materiality assessment to ensure we are focusing on the risks that matter most
to our business, as well as a physical risk assessment of the portfolio to identity priority areas over different time horizons.
These exercises have informed our internal Sustainability Implementation Plan to operationalise our sustainability
priorities. We also launched a Circularity Score and set ourselves targets to increase the reuse of materials in our
developments and major refurbishments. For further details, see pages 39 to 66.
Our Sustainable Finance Framework, which was updated in the year, governs our debt issuances, with the aim of
financing projects that have a positive environmental and/or social impact. During the year, under this framework, we
issued our first £250 million seven-year sustainable bond. This builds on our ESG-linked RCF and term loan, which include
targets to reduce embodied carbon from our new developments and major refurbishments and to improve biodiversity
across our portfolio. The rate of interest we pay on our RCF depends on our performance against these targets.
Furthermore, sustainability targets have been included within the annual bonus scorecard for all colleagues and are
being used to assess levels of remuneration. The progress made against the 2024/25 annual targets, is set out on
pages 11, 43, 45, 49 and 133.
We continue to work to improve the number of our buildings rated for their sustainability credentials. The UK Government
has previously announced its intention that all buildings will require an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of
B or above by 2030 and we await updates regarding this legislation. As a result, we have created individual asset plans
to proactively improve our EPC ratings to meet government and broader stakeholder expectations, to assess potential
exposures and inform our hold/sell strategies.
We expect the sustainability challenge to provide us with further potential opportunities to acquire orphaned assets
needing a sustainability solution.
85
Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our approach to risk continued
How we manage principal risks and uncertainties continued
Principal risk
Strategic priorities
2025/26 How we monitor and manage risk
Net risk movement
over the last 12 months Commentary
London attractiveness
London’s appeal may be impacted
by reduced appetite to travel to,
work, live and shop in London due
to changes in working patterns,
changes in government policies, the
rise of alternative destinations for
international trade, the impact of civil
unrest, terrorism, a pandemic, the
impact of long-term climate change
(including risk of flooding), disruption
to energy supplies and/or the relative
expense of operating in London.
This results in reduced international
capital flows into London, leading to
a lack of investment and/or capital
flight (including diminished appeal
of the London Stock Exchange),
lower leasing demand and elevated
vacancy, decreasing income, asset
values and development viability.
2
Enhance
portfolio
through sales
and acquisitions
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Board annual strategy review with regular economic and market updates
received from third parties.
– Strategic financial forecasts are updated prior to each Board meeting
with scenario planning for different economic cycles and eventualities.
– Regular review of strategic priorities and transactions in light of the
Group’s dashboard of lead indicators and operational parameters.
– Key London indicators are monitored to help inform GPE’s view
of London’s economy.
– The impacts of international trading relationships, supply chain disruption
and geopolitical issues continue to be monitored and reported to the
Executive Committee and Board.
– Active participation in industry groups to promote London.
– Business Continuity Plan in place to manage our response to a major
incident or disruption.
No change
London generates around a quarter of UK GDP and is one of the world’s leading commercial, creative and financial
centres, with a deep pool of talent. It has one of the world’s largest commercial real estate markets, with around
440 million sq ft of office and retail property attracting a deep and diverse mix of customers and property investors,
many from overseas. London remains one of the leading global destinations for real estate investment due to its
combination of relative value, strong legal system, time zone advantages, international connectivity and a welcoming
attitude to global businesses, despite recent changes to non-domicile and other tax rules potentially impacting
London’s attractiveness to high-net-worth individuals.
Factors such as the impact of geopolitical tensions, volatile global trading arrangements, lower GDP forecasts,
inflationary pressures, elevated interest rates and rising costs of living have weighed on sentiment and lowered activity
in our investment markets. However, London is resilient, our leasing activity remains robust, West End footfall and tourism
is healthy and central London is busy with greater pressure from businesses to have employees return to the office.
Despite ongoing volatility in the macro-economic environment, we believe that London’s attraction as a global
cultural and business centre remains strong.
Adverse macro-economic environment
Adverse macro-economic conditions
driven by events such as volatile
international trade arrangements,
geopolitical tensions (including
conflicts in the Ukraine and Middle
East), government policies (including
taxation) and supply chain disruption
result in weak growth and global
and/or UK recession. Higher levels of
uncertainty, inflation (including energy
prices), persistently higher interest
rates and reduced consumer spending
impair investor and occupier demand
(as businesses defer or are unable
to commit to investment or leasing
decisions), increase customer and
supplier failure, limit the availability
and increase the costs of debt
financing, curtail income and reduce
asset values and returns. As a result,
GPE’s financial leverage increases and
potentially results in limited availability
of capital and/or a breach of our
banking covenants. Our ability to
access capital may also be limited if
the attractiveness of the London Stock
Exchange diminishes and/or investor
appetite for listed real estate company
shares reduces, resulting in a persistent
disconnect between share prices and
underlying performance.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
2
Enhance
portfolio
through sales
and acquisitions
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Regular review of financing and capital structure, including gearing levels,
by the Chief Financial & Operating Officer and Executive Committee.
– Board annual strategy review including regular economic and market
updates received from third parties.
– Strategic financial forecasts are updated prior to each
scheduled Board meeting with scenario planning for different
economic cycles and eventualities.
– Regular review of strategic priorities and transactions in light of the
Group’s dashboard of lead indicators and operational parameters.
– Regular review of current and forecast debt, hedging levels and
financing ratios under various market scenarios.
– The Group aims to maintain a consistent policy of conservative
financial leverage.
– Proactive balance sheet management.
– Investor relations programme, with regular broker consultation,
to build a supportive investor base.
– The Group’s funding measures are diversified across a range of bank
and bond markets.
– Sustainable Finance Framework, overseen by our Sustainable Finance
Committee, and public credit rating in place for debt issuances.
– Selection of customers, contractors and suppliers based on creditworthiness,
close monitoring of rent and service charge collection rates and periodic
customer financial health checks.
Increased
Our markets remained challenging over the course of the financial year. However, inflation is moderating, further
interest rate cuts are anticipated and yields have largely stabilised. Given this backdrop, our portfolio valuation increased
by 3.6%, on a like-for-like basis, over the year driven by the impact of our leasing activity and rental growth. This included
GPE delivering a strong leasing year and our portfolio ERVs continued to grow, up 5% in the year, reflecting the continued
shortage of high quality space across our markets.
Despite property values returning to growth, the macro-economic environment has become increasingly volatile as
uncertainty regarding global trading arrangements and geopolitical tensions have weighed on the outlook for global
GDP growth. Whilst the outlook remains unclear, forecasts for UK growth have been reduced and the risk of UK and/or
global recession has increased. As such, our assessment of this risk has increased.
Over the long term, real estate markets have historically been cyclical, and London has been no exception to this. As a
result, we have consistently adopted a conservative approach to financial leverage. As at 31 March 2025, our property
LTV was 30.8%, net gearing was 41.9% and interest cover was 10.9 times. Accordingly, we have substantial headroom
above our Group debt covenants. We estimate property values could fall around 41% before Group debt covenants
could be endangered, even before factoring in mitigating management actions. The Group also has significant
financial capacity with liquidity of £376.0 million (including joint ventures), comprising unrestricted cash of £33.0 million and
undrawn committed credit facilities of £343.0 million. Key debt transactions in the year included the issue of a £250 million
seven-year sustainable bond, the signing of a new £150 million ESG-linked RCF, the repayment of the Group’s £175 million
private placement notes on maturity and the repayment of £175m of the Group’s £250 million term loan.
Over the year, GPE has successfully capitalised on the uncertain macro-economic conditions and has substantially
allocated the proceeds of the rights issue, completed in June 2024, in four accretive acquisitions (including capex).
Looking forward, the Group anticipates that its buying and selling activity will become more balanced as it looks to
sell some of its more mature assets where business plans are complete and its ability to add further value are limited.
Despite the strength of the Group’s performance in the year, macro conditions have continued to impact market
sentiment and share price performance across the real estate sector. The attractiveness of our sector and our shares
has the potential to impact our ability to raise equity capital.
86 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Principal risk
Strategic priorities
2025/26 How we monitor and manage risk
Net risk movement
over the last 12 months Commentary
London attractiveness
London’s appeal may be impacted
by reduced appetite to travel to,
work, live and shop in London due
to changes in working patterns,
changes in government policies, the
rise of alternative destinations for
international trade, the impact of civil
unrest, terrorism, a pandemic, the
impact of long-term climate change
(including risk of flooding), disruption
to energy supplies and/or the relative
expense of operating in London.
This results in reduced international
capital flows into London, leading to
a lack of investment and/or capital
flight (including diminished appeal
of the London Stock Exchange),
lower leasing demand and elevated
vacancy, decreasing income, asset
values and development viability.
2
Enhance
portfolio
through sales
and acquisitions
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Board annual strategy review with regular economic and market updates
received from third parties.
– Strategic financial forecasts are updated prior to each Board meeting
with scenario planning for different economic cycles and eventualities.
– Regular review of strategic priorities and transactions in light of the
Group’s dashboard of lead indicators and operational parameters.
– Key London indicators are monitored to help inform GPE’s view
of London’s economy.
– The impacts of international trading relationships, supply chain disruption
and geopolitical issues continue to be monitored and reported to the
Executive Committee and Board.
– Active participation in industry groups to promote London.
– Business Continuity Plan in place to manage our response to a major
incident or disruption.
No change
London generates around a quarter of UK GDP and is one of the world’s leading commercial, creative and financial
centres, with a deep pool of talent. It has one of the world’s largest commercial real estate markets, with around
440 million sq ft of office and retail property attracting a deep and diverse mix of customers and property investors,
many from overseas. London remains one of the leading global destinations for real estate investment due to its
combination of relative value, strong legal system, time zone advantages, international connectivity and a welcoming
attitude to global businesses, despite recent changes to non-domicile and other tax rules potentially impacting
London’s attractiveness to high-net-worth individuals.
Factors such as the impact of geopolitical tensions, volatile global trading arrangements, lower GDP forecasts,
inflationary pressures, elevated interest rates and rising costs of living have weighed on sentiment and lowered activity
in our investment markets. However, London is resilient, our leasing activity remains robust, West End footfall and tourism
is healthy and central London is busy with greater pressure from businesses to have employees return to the office.
Despite ongoing volatility in the macro-economic environment, we believe that London’s attraction as a global
cultural and business centre remains strong.
Adverse macro-economic environment
Adverse macro-economic conditions
driven by events such as volatile
international trade arrangements,
geopolitical tensions (including
conflicts in the Ukraine and Middle
East), government policies (including
taxation) and supply chain disruption
result in weak growth and global
and/or UK recession. Higher levels of
uncertainty, inflation (including energy
prices), persistently higher interest
rates and reduced consumer spending
impair investor and occupier demand
(as businesses defer or are unable
to commit to investment or leasing
decisions), increase customer and
supplier failure, limit the availability
and increase the costs of debt
financing, curtail income and reduce
asset values and returns. As a result,
GPE’s financial leverage increases and
potentially results in limited availability
of capital and/or a breach of our
banking covenants. Our ability to
access capital may also be limited if
the attractiveness of the London Stock
Exchange diminishes and/or investor
appetite for listed real estate company
shares reduces, resulting in a persistent
disconnect between share prices and
underlying performance.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
2
Enhance
portfolio
through sales
and acquisitions
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Regular review of financing and capital structure, including gearing levels,
by the Chief Financial & Operating Officer and Executive Committee.
– Board annual strategy review including regular economic and market
updates received from third parties.
– Strategic financial forecasts are updated prior to each
scheduled Board meeting with scenario planning for different
economic cycles and eventualities.
– Regular review of strategic priorities and transactions in light of the
Group’s dashboard of lead indicators and operational parameters.
– Regular review of current and forecast debt, hedging levels and
financing ratios under various market scenarios.
– The Group aims to maintain a consistent policy of conservative
financial leverage.
– Proactive balance sheet management.
– Investor relations programme, with regular broker consultation,
to build a supportive investor base.
– The Group’s funding measures are diversified across a range of bank
and bond markets.
– Sustainable Finance Framework, overseen by our Sustainable Finance
Committee, and public credit rating in place for debt issuances.
– Selection of customers, contractors and suppliers based on creditworthiness,
close monitoring of rent and service charge collection rates and periodic
customer financial health checks.
Increased
Our markets remained challenging over the course of the financial year. However, inflation is moderating, further
interest rate cuts are anticipated and yields have largely stabilised. Given this backdrop, our portfolio valuation increased
by 3.6%, on a like-for-like basis, over the year driven by the impact of our leasing activity and rental growth. This included
GPE delivering a strong leasing year and our portfolio ERVs continued to grow, up 5% in the year, reflecting the continued
shortage of high quality space across our markets.
Despite property values returning to growth, the macro-economic environment has become increasingly volatile as
uncertainty regarding global trading arrangements and geopolitical tensions have weighed on the outlook for global
GDP growth. Whilst the outlook remains unclear, forecasts for UK growth have been reduced and the risk of UK and/or
global recession has increased. As such, our assessment of this risk has increased.
Over the long term, real estate markets have historically been cyclical, and London has been no exception to this. As a
result, we have consistently adopted a conservative approach to financial leverage. As at 31 March 2025, our property
LTV was 30.8%, net gearing was 41.9% and interest cover was 10.9 times. Accordingly, we have substantial headroom
above our Group debt covenants. We estimate property values could fall around 41% before Group debt covenants
could be endangered, even before factoring in mitigating management actions. The Group also has significant
financial capacity with liquidity of £376.0 million (including joint ventures), comprising unrestricted cash of £33.0 million and
undrawn committed credit facilities of £343.0 million. Key debt transactions in the year included the issue of a £250 million
seven-year sustainable bond, the signing of a new £150 million ESG-linked RCF, the repayment of the Group’s £175 million
private placement notes on maturity and the repayment of £175m of the Group’s £250 million term loan.
Over the year, GPE has successfully capitalised on the uncertain macro-economic conditions and has substantially
allocated the proceeds of the rights issue, completed in June 2024, in four accretive acquisitions (including capex).
Looking forward, the Group anticipates that its buying and selling activity will become more balanced as it looks to
sell some of its more mature assets where business plans are complete and its ability to add further value are limited.
Despite the strength of the Group’s performance in the year, macro conditions have continued to impact market
sentiment and share price performance across the real estate sector. The attractiveness of our sector and our shares
has the potential to impact our ability to raise equity capital.
87
Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our approach to risk continued
How we manage principal risks and uncertainties continued
Principal risk
Strategic priorities
2025/26 How we monitor and manage risk
Net risk movement
over the last 12 months Commentary
Poor capital allocation decisions and/or misreading market conditions
We make poor decisions regarding
the allocation of capital and/or fail to
adequately read the property cycle
or market conditions (including global
investor appetite for commercial
real estate and offices) such that our
leasing, buying, selling or development
activities deliver inadequate investment
returns, restrict our ability to finance
our operations or result in inappropriate
asset concentration, building mix and/
or level of development undertaken
as a percentage of the portfolio.
2
Enhance
portfolio
through sales
and acquisitions
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Board annual strategy review including regular economic and market
updates received from third parties.
– Strategy review forecast on an asset-by-asset basis to provide a business
plan for each individual property which is subsequently reviewed against
the performance of the business as a whole.
– Strategic financial forecasts are updated prior to each scheduled
Board meeting with scenario planning for different economic cycles.
– Regular reviews conducted of individual property IRRs, including quarterly
review of individual property dashboards, and the market generally.
Quarterly review of asset-by-asset business plans to assess future
performance and to inform hold/sell decision making.
– Weekly investment meetings held and regular dialogue maintained
with key intermediaries.
– Portfolio Management, Flex, Customer Experience, Development and
Leasing quarterly updates to the Executive Committee with reporting
at scheduled Board meetings.
– Regular review of property cycle by reference to a dashboard
of lead indicators.
– Dedicated in-house team with remit to research submarkets in central
London, seeking the right balance between investment and development
opportunities for both current and prospective market conditions.
– Detailed due diligence processes for all prospective acquisitions/capital
expenditure to help ensure appropriate returns. Key decisions are subject
to Board and/or Executive Committee approval in line with the Group’s
delegated authorities.
No change
During the year, we made good progress at our three onsite HQ development schemes for which leasing interest in all
the available space has been strong and, in May 2025, we were pleased to pre-let the entirety of the office space at
30 Duke Street, SW1 to CD&R. We are also on-site at four Fully Managed refurbishment schemes which are anticipated
to deliver 144,900 sq ft of space with completions from summer 2025.
In total, our HQ development and Flex capex programme provides a strong platform for organic growth. Together,
our seven on-site schemes will deliver 679,200 sq ft of well-designed, tech-enabled and sustainable space into a market
where prospective supply is increasingly limited. Moreover, with around £139 million of anticipated development
surplus to come from these schemes, they will provide a strong foundation to the Group’s growth in the coming years.
Whilst the Group has been a net acquirer during the year and has allocated the majority of the rights issue proceeds,
we continue to be opportunistic with regard to potential HQ development and Flex acquisitions. The Group continues
to regularly review the forward-look performance of our portfolio to maximise returns and, as investment market
activity improves, we will seek to crystallise returns where the Group’s ability to add further value is limited.
Failure to profitably deliver the development and/or refurbishment programme
We fail to translate the development
and/or refurbishment pipeline and
current committed schemes into
profitable schemes. This may result from
poor scheme management (including of
supply chain disruption and the impacts
of inflation – which could result from
volatile international trade arrangements
– contractor risks or adverse yield
movements), an increasingly challenging
planning and regulatory environment,
failure to agree acceptable terms with
freeholders/adjoining owners/other
stakeholders, poor timing of activity
and/or inappropriate products for an
evolving market and customer needs
(including sustainability expectations).
This results in reduced development and/
or refurbishment activity, weak leasing
performance, reputational damage
and reducing property returns.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Strategic financial forecasts are updated prior to each scheduled
Board meeting with scenario planning for different economic cycles.
– Development management quarterly updates to the Executive Committee
with reporting to each scheduled Board meeting.
– Regular review of portfolio mix and asset concentration. Adjustment
of the portfolio as appropriate through undertaking acquisitions and/or
development projects in joint venture or forward funding.
– Regular meetings with key cost advisers, main contractors and subcontractors
to monitor market conditions. Procurement routes and when to fix prices kept
under close review.
– Prior to committing to a scheme, the Group conducts a detailed financial and
operational appraisal process which evaluates the expected returns from a
scheme in light of likely risks. During the course of a scheme, the actual costs
and estimated returns are regularly monitored to signpost prompt decisions
on project management, leasing and ownership.
– Regular pipeline review meetings between the Development and Portfolio
Management teams and quarterly asset review sessions.
– Selection of contractors and suppliers based on their track record of delivery
and creditworthiness, corporate responsibility and sustainability credentials.
– Post-completion reviews undertaken through Final Appraisal process on all
developments to identify best practice and areas for improvement.
– Regular, proactive engagement with key stakeholders: working closely with
agents, potential customers, and purchasers to identify and address their
needs and aspirations, including in respect of safety, sustainability, wellbeing
and technology during the planning application and design stages; regular
meetings with local authorities, planning officers and experienced planning
advisers; early engagement with local residents and community groups,
adjoining owners and freeholders.
– Design Review meetings to review design briefs for all buildings for sustainability
considerations. All our major developments are subject to an appropriate
sustainability rating requirement. Circularity Score targets have also been
set for new developments and major refurbishments.
– Regular review of the prospective performance of individual assets
and their business plans with joint venture partners.
– Flexible workspace and design team in place to streamline processes
and drive efficiencies across our Flex refurbishment activities.
No change
Our seven on-site schemes, three HQ developments and four Flex refurbishments will deliver 679,200 sq ft of well
designed, tech-enabled and sustainable space into a market where prospective supply is increasingly limited.
Moreover, we have around £139 million of anticipated development surplus to come from these schemes.
To successfully deliver our developments, we work closely with both local authorities and communities to secure
planning consents to create great new sustainable spaces, helping London to thrive. We aim to engage with local
authorities in an open, transparent and non-adversarial manner. As a matter of course, we liaise with community
stakeholders to understand their needs and, where possible, we will adjust our proposals to take account of comments
received. We use planning performance agreements with the local planning authority to ensure that our planning
applications are determined in a timely manner.
With planning permissions secured in the year for The Courtyard, WC1 and the Soho Square Estate, W1, we continue
to progress our development pipeline and we were pleased to meet our targeted development milestones for our
key schemes during the year.
Sustainability is increasingly important in the planning process. The planning environment remains challenging,
especially for new build development schemes, where there is an increasing preference for ‘retrofit first’. We look
to work with key local authorities to support their principles of ‘good growth’ and continue to evolve our strategies
for reducing the carbon footprint of our development activities, including through the use of the circular economy.
Our new Circularity Score is aimed at reducing the use of virgin materials in our major development and refurbishment
schemes and encouraging innovation across the industry and our supply chain.
We are engaging with the Greater London Authority over the Mayoral Development Corporation for Oxford Street
to understand and shape how this will impact our projects that sit within it.
We continue to monitor volatile international trading arrangements and their potential impacts on our supply chain,
contractor risks and development costs, as well as the potential impacts of immigration policies on the availability
of labour in the construction industry.
88 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Principal risk
Strategic priorities
2025/26 How we monitor and manage risk
Net risk movement
over the last 12 months Commentary
Poor capital allocation decisions and/or misreading market conditions
We make poor decisions regarding
the allocation of capital and/or fail to
adequately read the property cycle
or market conditions (including global
investor appetite for commercial
real estate and offices) such that our
leasing, buying, selling or development
activities deliver inadequate investment
returns, restrict our ability to finance
our operations or result in inappropriate
asset concentration, building mix and/
or level of development undertaken
as a percentage of the portfolio.
2
Enhance
portfolio
through sales
and acquisitions
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Board annual strategy review including regular economic and market
updates received from third parties.
– Strategy review forecast on an asset-by-asset basis to provide a business
plan for each individual property which is subsequently reviewed against
the performance of the business as a whole.
– Strategic financial forecasts are updated prior to each scheduled
Board meeting with scenario planning for different economic cycles.
– Regular reviews conducted of individual property IRRs, including quarterly
review of individual property dashboards, and the market generally.
Quarterly review of asset-by-asset business plans to assess future
performance and to inform hold/sell decision making.
– Weekly investment meetings held and regular dialogue maintained
with key intermediaries.
– Portfolio Management, Flex, Customer Experience, Development and
Leasing quarterly updates to the Executive Committee with reporting
at scheduled Board meetings.
– Regular review of property cycle by reference to a dashboard
of lead indicators.
– Dedicated in-house team with remit to research submarkets in central
London, seeking the right balance between investment and development
opportunities for both current and prospective market conditions.
– Detailed due diligence processes for all prospective acquisitions/capital
expenditure to help ensure appropriate returns. Key decisions are subject
to Board and/or Executive Committee approval in line with the Group’s
delegated authorities.
No change
During the year, we made good progress at our three onsite HQ development schemes for which leasing interest in all
the available space has been strong and, in May 2025, we were pleased to pre-let the entirety of the office space at
30 Duke Street, SW1 to CD&R. We are also on-site at four Fully Managed refurbishment schemes which are anticipated
to deliver 144,900 sq ft of space with completions from summer 2025.
In total, our HQ development and Flex capex programme provides a strong platform for organic growth. Together,
our seven on-site schemes will deliver 679,200 sq ft of well-designed, tech-enabled and sustainable space into a market
where prospective supply is increasingly limited. Moreover, with around £139 million of anticipated development
surplus to come from these schemes, they will provide a strong foundation to the Group’s growth in the coming years.
Whilst the Group has been a net acquirer during the year and has allocated the majority of the rights issue proceeds,
we continue to be opportunistic with regard to potential HQ development and Flex acquisitions. The Group continues
to regularly review the forward-look performance of our portfolio to maximise returns and, as investment market
activity improves, we will seek to crystallise returns where the Group’s ability to add further value is limited.
Failure to profitably deliver the development and/or refurbishment programme
We fail to translate the development
and/or refurbishment pipeline and
current committed schemes into
profitable schemes. This may result from
poor scheme management (including of
supply chain disruption and the impacts
of inflation – which could result from
volatile international trade arrangements
– contractor risks or adverse yield
movements), an increasingly challenging
planning and regulatory environment,
failure to agree acceptable terms with
freeholders/adjoining owners/other
stakeholders, poor timing of activity
and/or inappropriate products for an
evolving market and customer needs
(including sustainability expectations).
This results in reduced development and/
or refurbishment activity, weak leasing
performance, reputational damage
and reducing property returns.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Strategic financial forecasts are updated prior to each scheduled
Board meeting with scenario planning for different economic cycles.
– Development management quarterly updates to the Executive Committee
with reporting to each scheduled Board meeting.
– Regular review of portfolio mix and asset concentration. Adjustment
of the portfolio as appropriate through undertaking acquisitions and/or
development projects in joint venture or forward funding.
– Regular meetings with key cost advisers, main contractors and subcontractors
to monitor market conditions. Procurement routes and when to fix prices kept
under close review.
– Prior to committing to a scheme, the Group conducts a detailed financial and
operational appraisal process which evaluates the expected returns from a
scheme in light of likely risks. During the course of a scheme, the actual costs
and estimated returns are regularly monitored to signpost prompt decisions
on project management, leasing and ownership.
– Regular pipeline review meetings between the Development and Portfolio
Management teams and quarterly asset review sessions.
– Selection of contractors and suppliers based on their track record of delivery
and creditworthiness, corporate responsibility and sustainability credentials.
– Post-completion reviews undertaken through Final Appraisal process on all
developments to identify best practice and areas for improvement.
– Regular, proactive engagement with key stakeholders: working closely with
agents, potential customers, and purchasers to identify and address their
needs and aspirations, including in respect of safety, sustainability, wellbeing
and technology during the planning application and design stages; regular
meetings with local authorities, planning officers and experienced planning
advisers; early engagement with local residents and community groups,
adjoining owners and freeholders.
– Design Review meetings to review design briefs for all buildings for sustainability
considerations. All our major developments are subject to an appropriate
sustainability rating requirement. Circularity Score targets have also been
set for new developments and major refurbishments.
– Regular review of the prospective performance of individual assets
and their business plans with joint venture partners.
– Flexible workspace and design team in place to streamline processes
and drive efficiencies across our Flex refurbishment activities.
No change
Our seven on-site schemes, three HQ developments and four Flex refurbishments will deliver 679,200 sq ft of well
designed, tech-enabled and sustainable space into a market where prospective supply is increasingly limited.
Moreover, we have around £139 million of anticipated development surplus to come from these schemes.
To successfully deliver our developments, we work closely with both local authorities and communities to secure
planning consents to create great new sustainable spaces, helping London to thrive. We aim to engage with local
authorities in an open, transparent and non-adversarial manner. As a matter of course, we liaise with community
stakeholders to understand their needs and, where possible, we will adjust our proposals to take account of comments
received. We use planning performance agreements with the local planning authority to ensure that our planning
applications are determined in a timely manner.
With planning permissions secured in the year for The Courtyard, WC1 and the Soho Square Estate, W1, we continue
to progress our development pipeline and we were pleased to meet our targeted development milestones for our
key schemes during the year.
Sustainability is increasingly important in the planning process. The planning environment remains challenging,
especially for new build development schemes, where there is an increasing preference for ‘retrofit first’. We look
to work with key local authorities to support their principles of ‘good growth’ and continue to evolve our strategies
for reducing the carbon footprint of our development activities, including through the use of the circular economy.
Our new Circularity Score is aimed at reducing the use of virgin materials in our major development and refurbishment
schemes and encouraging innovation across the industry and our supply chain.
We are engaging with the Greater London Authority over the Mayoral Development Corporation for Oxford Street
to understand and shape how this will impact our projects that sit within it.
We continue to monitor volatile international trading arrangements and their potential impacts on our supply chain,
contractor risks and development costs, as well as the potential impacts of immigration policies on the availability
of labour in the construction industry.
89
Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our approach to risk continued
How we manage principal risks and uncertainties continued
Principal risk
Strategic priorities
2025/26 How we monitor and manage risk
Net risk movement
over the last 12 months Commentary
People
Failure to attract, incentivise
and retain high quality, suitably
diverse and experienced individuals
negatively impacts our ability to
deliver our strategic objectives
and has a detrimental impact on
our values and inclusive culture.
Additionally, failure to design and
implement the right organisational
structure (structure, skills, resourcing
levels) will impede our ability to
achieve our strategic objectives.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Regular review is undertaken of the Group’s resourcing requirements,
performance management, talent review and succession planning.
– The Group has a competitive and attractive employee value proposition
that is strongly linked to performance and values and a formal six-monthly
appraisal system to provide regular assessment of individual performance.
– Regular benchmarking of remuneration and non-financial packages to ensure
they remain competitive in the market, with a remuneration policy which
is cascaded through the business.
– Personal development planning and ongoing training support for employees,
together with focused initiatives to nurture potential successors, including
talent development, mentoring and coaching programmes.
– Clear articulation of GPE values and behaviours which are embedded in key
people practices. We place strong emphasis on creating an inclusive culture,
supported by the work of our Inclusion Committee and four employee-led
impact groups.
– Board, Nomination and Executive Committee oversight of our People
Strategy and Diversity & Inclusion Plan.
– Hybrid Working Policy to give employees appropriate flexibility to perform
their roles.
– Focus on people engagement with regular two-way communication
and responsive employee-focused activities.
No change
The motivation of our people and maintaining our strong inclusive culture remains fundamental to the delivery of our
strategic priorities. The strength of our values and appeal of our culture was highlighted by our most recent employee
survey with 85% of respondents saying they would recommend GPE as a great place to work. Our overall employee
engagement and inclusion index survey score increased to 80.3% with 89% of the GPE team completing the survey.
During the year, we updated our D&I Plan as part of our revised People Strategy to build on our progress to date. The Board
and Nomination Committee have continued to oversee the implementation of key initiatives and performance against
representation targets across the Group. See pages 68 to 72, 114 and 115 for further details.
The physical and mental wellbeing of our people remains a key priority. We seek to be a caring and supportive employer
with a comprehensive Wellbeing Programme to support physical and mental health with a focus on de-stigmatising
the reality of mental health challenges. We have trained mental health first aiders and have introduced innovative tools
to support the mental health of our employees and their family members.
We have continued our Board workforce engagement programme to enable the Board to listen and respond to
feedback from employees and to discuss important matters impacting the business. This included the introduction
of our new ‘A lunch with …’ format to encourage feedback in a smaller forum and other engagement sessions focusing
on D&I. During the year, we continued the work and expanded the remits of our Employee Impact Groups to strengthen
our engagement and feedback from under-represented groups, overseen by our Inclusion Committee.
We achieved a Clear Assured Silver level diversity and inclusion accreditation in the year, reflecting the positive
changes being made in many areas, and we continue to focus on growing the breadth, depth and diversity of our talent,
providing focused development support where needed in an inclusive environment.
Health and safety
A health and safety incident
(including by our contractors) results
in loss of life, significant injury or
widespread infection, and financial
and/or reputational damage to GPE.
Furthermore, significant changes
in health and safety and fire safety
regulations (including pursuant to the
Building Safety Act 2022) and practice
driven by government intervention
increase compliance and development
costs and/or risks of non-compliance.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Quarterly Health and Safety Committee meetings are held, with regular
reporting on health and safety to the Executive Committee and Board,
including on progress against our Health and Safety Strategy and KPIs.
Our Board-approved Health and Safety Policy in place and reviewed annually.
– Regular health and safety site checks are undertaken by internal teams
and third parties, along with regular senior leadership building tours.
– Pre-qualification and competency checks are undertaken for contractors
and consultants with contractor management processes in place.
– Formal reporting on near misses/significant incidents and accidents.
– Proactive health and safety KPIs to monitor and track performance
and drive behaviours.
– Annual external cycle of health and safety, asbestos, fire safety and water
safety risk assessments and surveys.
– Online health and safety risk management system in place for the business.
– Fire safety management procedures in place with a fire safety working
group that meets quarterly to consider risks and improvements.
– Activities are undertaken to monitor and raise employee awareness and
understanding of health and safety matters, including through employee
engagement surveys and a health & safety training programme.
– Comprehensive health and wellbeing programme in place for employees
with mental health first aiders and an employee assistance programme.
– Regular internal health and safety audits covering fire safety, water safety
and general health and safety housekeeping and compliance standards.
No change
We continue to focus on ensuring that we have a best-in-class and proactive health and safety culture and we look to
continuously strengthen our practices and procedures in response to requirements, including with regard to the Fire
Safety Act and Building Safety Act. We continue to monitor evolving regulation and assess its impact, as well as the
risks of potential exposure to remediation requirements for developers and owners under the Building Safety Act.
The Group had two minor reportable accidents during the year. Where accidents do occur, we work with our customers and
supply chain on accident investigation to understand lessons learned and opportunities for improvement, to consider how
the work could have been set up differently and to understand how we can better support our customers and suppliers.
We continue to undertake activities to raise employee awareness and understanding of health and safety requirements,
including to ensure our health and safety training remains aligned with evolving operational needs and industry standards.
We continue to monitor health and safety across the portfolio through a set of proactive KPIs and we have recently
established a revised health and safety audit programme to further strengthen our oversight.
90 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Principal risk
Strategic priorities
2025/26 How we monitor and manage risk
Net risk movement
over the last 12 months Commentary
People
Failure to attract, incentivise
and retain high quality, suitably
diverse and experienced individuals
negatively impacts our ability to
deliver our strategic objectives
and has a detrimental impact on
our values and inclusive culture.
Additionally, failure to design and
implement the right organisational
structure (structure, skills, resourcing
levels) will impede our ability to
achieve our strategic objectives.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Regular review is undertaken of the Group’s resourcing requirements,
performance management, talent review and succession planning.
– The Group has a competitive and attractive employee value proposition
that is strongly linked to performance and values and a formal six-monthly
appraisal system to provide regular assessment of individual performance.
– Regular benchmarking of remuneration and non-financial packages to ensure
they remain competitive in the market, with a remuneration policy which
is cascaded through the business.
– Personal development planning and ongoing training support for employees,
together with focused initiatives to nurture potential successors, including
talent development, mentoring and coaching programmes.
– Clear articulation of GPE values and behaviours which are embedded in key
people practices. We place strong emphasis on creating an inclusive culture,
supported by the work of our Inclusion Committee and four employee-led
impact groups.
– Board, Nomination and Executive Committee oversight of our People
Strategy and Diversity & Inclusion Plan.
– Hybrid Working Policy to give employees appropriate flexibility to perform
their roles.
– Focus on people engagement with regular two-way communication
and responsive employee-focused activities.
No change
The motivation of our people and maintaining our strong inclusive culture remains fundamental to the delivery of our
strategic priorities. The strength of our values and appeal of our culture was highlighted by our most recent employee
survey with 85% of respondents saying they would recommend GPE as a great place to work. Our overall employee
engagement and inclusion index survey score increased to 80.3% with 89% of the GPE team completing the survey.
During the year, we updated our D&I Plan as part of our revised People Strategy to build on our progress to date. The Board
and Nomination Committee have continued to oversee the implementation of key initiatives and performance against
representation targets across the Group. See pages 68 to 72, 114 and 115 for further details.
The physical and mental wellbeing of our people remains a key priority. We seek to be a caring and supportive employer
with a comprehensive Wellbeing Programme to support physical and mental health with a focus on de-stigmatising
the reality of mental health challenges. We have trained mental health first aiders and have introduced innovative tools
to support the mental health of our employees and their family members.
We have continued our Board workforce engagement programme to enable the Board to listen and respond to
feedback from employees and to discuss important matters impacting the business. This included the introduction
of our new ‘A lunch with …’ format to encourage feedback in a smaller forum and other engagement sessions focusing
on D&I. During the year, we continued the work and expanded the remits of our Employee Impact Groups to strengthen
our engagement and feedback from under-represented groups, overseen by our Inclusion Committee.
We achieved a Clear Assured Silver level diversity and inclusion accreditation in the year, reflecting the positive
changes being made in many areas, and we continue to focus on growing the breadth, depth and diversity of our talent,
providing focused development support where needed in an inclusive environment.
Health and safety
A health and safety incident
(including by our contractors) results
in loss of life, significant injury or
widespread infection, and financial
and/or reputational damage to GPE.
Furthermore, significant changes
in health and safety and fire safety
regulations (including pursuant to the
Building Safety Act 2022) and practice
driven by government intervention
increase compliance and development
costs and/or risks of non-compliance.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Quarterly Health and Safety Committee meetings are held, with regular
reporting on health and safety to the Executive Committee and Board,
including on progress against our Health and Safety Strategy and KPIs.
Our Board-approved Health and Safety Policy in place and reviewed annually.
– Regular health and safety site checks are undertaken by internal teams
and third parties, along with regular senior leadership building tours.
– Pre-qualification and competency checks are undertaken for contractors
and consultants with contractor management processes in place.
– Formal reporting on near misses/significant incidents and accidents.
– Proactive health and safety KPIs to monitor and track performance
and drive behaviours.
– Annual external cycle of health and safety, asbestos, fire safety and water
safety risk assessments and surveys.
– Online health and safety risk management system in place for the business.
– Fire safety management procedures in place with a fire safety working
group that meets quarterly to consider risks and improvements.
– Activities are undertaken to monitor and raise employee awareness and
understanding of health and safety matters, including through employee
engagement surveys and a health & safety training programme.
– Comprehensive health and wellbeing programme in place for employees
with mental health first aiders and an employee assistance programme.
– Regular internal health and safety audits covering fire safety, water safety
and general health and safety housekeeping and compliance standards.
No change
We continue to focus on ensuring that we have a best-in-class and proactive health and safety culture and we look to
continuously strengthen our practices and procedures in response to requirements, including with regard to the Fire
Safety Act and Building Safety Act. We continue to monitor evolving regulation and assess its impact, as well as the
risks of potential exposure to remediation requirements for developers and owners under the Building Safety Act.
The Group had two minor reportable accidents during the year. Where accidents do occur, we work with our customers and
supply chain on accident investigation to understand lessons learned and opportunities for improvement, to consider how
the work could have been set up differently and to understand how we can better support our customers and suppliers.
We continue to undertake activities to raise employee awareness and understanding of health and safety requirements,
including to ensure our health and safety training remains aligned with evolving operational needs and industry standards.
We continue to monitor health and safety across the portfolio through a set of proactive KPIs and we have recently
established a revised health and safety audit programme to further strengthen our oversight.
91
Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
Our approach to risk continued
How we manage principal risks and uncertainties continued
Principal risk
Strategic priorities
2025/26 How we monitor and manage risk
Net risk movement
over the last 12 months Commentary
Cyber security and infrastructure failure
A cyber attack or infrastructure
failure leads to business or network
disruption within our portfolio or loss
of information or personal and/or
customer data. There is the potential
for greater impact on Fully Managed
customers, to which we provide
increased infrastructure support,
and high-risk customers. This results
in litigation, reputational damage
and/or financial or regulatory
penalties. Our failure to effectively
implement our planned new
finance and property management
system could adversely impact our
performance, financial reporting
and day-to-day business activities.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
– IT and cyber security updates are regularly reported to the Executive
Committee and the Board, which oversee the implementation of our Digital,
Technology & Innovation Strategy.
– Cyber security systems and controls are in place and regularly reviewed,
with external support, against best practice.
– A head office and portfolio IT risk register is maintained.
– The Group’s IT Disaster Recovery Plan is regularly reviewed and tested and
recovery of data at an off-site recovery centre is tested during the year.
An updated Business Continuity Plan was rolled out in the year.
– Regular testing of IT security is undertaken, including penetration testing
of key systems.
– The Group’s data is regularly backed up and replicated.
– The Group’s Cyber Third Party Management and Security Policy and
processes are designed to identify and control cyber-related risks arising
from our third-party relationships.
– Employee awareness training on cyber risk is undertaken regularly.
– Cyber risk insurance is in place.
– Each building has a bespoke Emergency Action Plan, maintaining
appropriate systems to mitigate any infrastructure failure.
– Partnerships with network and infrastructure suppliers to reduce risk
at site level.
– Governance framework in place for the implementation of the new
finance and property management system, including a programme
steering group and close oversight by the Executive and Audit
Committees and the Board.
No change
Cyber security risk has remained elevated due to the rise in attempted cyber crime amid geopolitical tensions, combined
with greater reliance on technology and increased vulnerabilities created by remote and hybrid working. We have
continued to invest time and resource into our cyber security measures, both in our head office and across our portfolio.
We continue to strengthen the design and operation of our IT controls, including our IT disaster recovery procedures.
The Board approved a three-year Digital, Technology & Innovation Strategy in April 2024 which includes goals and
objectives to manage risk, become a more digitally enabled business and deliver an improved digital customer experience.
We continue to consider the potential risks arising from technological advances, such as artificial intelligence, as well as
the opportunities this may present for our business and our customers.
The Group is planning to implement a new finance and property management system to future-proof our reporting
and operational activities with the support of an independent implementation partner. A governance framework has
been established for the project, which includes a programme steering group led by the Chief Financial & Operating
Officer with oversight by the Executive Committee, Audit Committee and Board. The 2025/26 internal audit plan will
be focusing on the implementation of the new system, including the project’s governance, the data migration strategy
and the assessment of the system integration plan.
Failure to profitably deliver the Flex Strategy
The failure to appropriately structure
our activities, achieve appropriate
pricing, maximise operational
efficiencies, deliver target growth or
adequately control costs (including
through customer retention) impacts
the delivery of our Flex office strategy
and our ability to generate appropriate
risk-adjusted returns. Furthermore,
as we scale up our Flex office delivery
and increase our focus on service
provision, the failure by GPE and/
or its service partners to deliver high
quality service impacts customer
satisfaction, demand and retention
and asset values.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
2
Enhance
portfolio
through sales
and acquisitions
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Board and management oversight of the development and implementation
of the Flex strategy and business plan with regular review of Flex KPIs to
monitor performance.
– Board annual strategy review with regular market updates.
– Regular Flex updates and formal quarterly updates to the Executive
Committee with reporting at scheduled Board meetings.
– Dedicated Flex leadership and team in place with senior design and delivery,
customer relationship and retention and operational capabilities. Regular
review of skills and capabilities to ensure appropriate resourcing is in
place for the effective delivery of service and experience.
– Customer First programme and strategy in place, led by our dedicated
Customer Experience team, to drive customer engagement and insight
and to ensure our customers’ occupational needs are met.
– Quarterly review of individual assets plans and the market generally.
– Close management oversight of costs and services, including design
and delivery.
– Flex Design Guidelines & Principles in place to provide consistency
and increase efficiencies across the portfolio.
– Board and management oversight of our Digital, Technology and
Innovation Strategy and related initiatives to support customer needs.
No change
To profitably deliver our Flex Strategy and scale up our Flex operations, we have built a platform to deliver this
operationally intensive side of our business, control the associated cost base and generate appropriate risk-adjusted
returns. We have also recruited additional expertise to focus on improving management information, budgeting,
customer experience, design and delivery.
In order to expand our Flex office offers, and meet our ambitious targets for growth, we are on-site at four refurbishments
to provide new dedicated Fully Managed spaces, and we are also converting a significant number of individual floors across
our portfolio. During the year, we acquired £47.6 million of new opportunities for our Fully Managed offerings, including
The Courtyard, WC1, and 19/23 Wells Street, W1.
During the year, including our Flex Partnerships, we increased our committed Flex offerings across the portfolio, and they
now total 582,000 sq ft (or approximately 25% of our office portfolio). In total, we signed 41 new leases in our Flex space, at a
combined 10.1% ahead of March 2024 ERV. This included leasing the majority of our newly launched Fully Managed buildings
at SIX St Andrew Street, EC4 and 31/34 Alfred Place, WC1. At the year end, the annualised Net Operating Income from our
Fully Managed portfolio was £16.1 million, well ahead of our target for the year. We retained 91% of our Fully Managed
customers at break or expiry for the year, substantially ahead of the 50% underwrite assumption, and we have recently
appointed a Fully Managed Customer Retention Lead to help maximise customer retention rates.
We continue to evolve our operating model and closely monitor costs and prospective risk-adjusted returns as we
refine our offer. A Flex management pack with operational KPIs is used to monitor performance and maximise returns.
To date, we remain encouraged by the leasing performance and feedback we have had for our products, which was
reflected in this year’s independent customer satisfaction survey, where our Net Promoter Score remained high at +48.3 for
our Fully Managed spaces. The ongoing development of our Customer First programme is designed to ensure continuous
feedback and provide valuable insight to help us deliver the type and quality of services our customers demand.
92 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Principal risk
Strategic priorities
2025/26 How we monitor and manage risk
Net risk movement
over the last 12 months Commentary
Cyber security and infrastructure failure
A cyber attack or infrastructure
failure leads to business or network
disruption within our portfolio or loss
of information or personal and/or
customer data. There is the potential
for greater impact on Fully Managed
customers, to which we provide
increased infrastructure support,
and high-risk customers. This results
in litigation, reputational damage
and/or financial or regulatory
penalties. Our failure to effectively
implement our planned new
finance and property management
system could adversely impact our
performance, financial reporting
and day-to-day business activities.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
– IT and cyber security updates are regularly reported to the Executive
Committee and the Board, which oversee the implementation of our Digital,
Technology & Innovation Strategy.
– Cyber security systems and controls are in place and regularly reviewed,
with external support, against best practice.
– A head office and portfolio IT risk register is maintained.
– The Group’s IT Disaster Recovery Plan is regularly reviewed and tested and
recovery of data at an off-site recovery centre is tested during the year.
An updated Business Continuity Plan was rolled out in the year.
– Regular testing of IT security is undertaken, including penetration testing
of key systems.
– The Group’s data is regularly backed up and replicated.
– The Group’s Cyber Third Party Management and Security Policy and
processes are designed to identify and control cyber-related risks arising
from our third-party relationships.
– Employee awareness training on cyber risk is undertaken regularly.
– Cyber risk insurance is in place.
– Each building has a bespoke Emergency Action Plan, maintaining
appropriate systems to mitigate any infrastructure failure.
– Partnerships with network and infrastructure suppliers to reduce risk
at site level.
– Governance framework in place for the implementation of the new
finance and property management system, including a programme
steering group and close oversight by the Executive and Audit
Committees and the Board.
No change
Cyber security risk has remained elevated due to the rise in attempted cyber crime amid geopolitical tensions, combined
with greater reliance on technology and increased vulnerabilities created by remote and hybrid working. We have
continued to invest time and resource into our cyber security measures, both in our head office and across our portfolio.
We continue to strengthen the design and operation of our IT controls, including our IT disaster recovery procedures.
The Board approved a three-year Digital, Technology & Innovation Strategy in April 2024 which includes goals and
objectives to manage risk, become a more digitally enabled business and deliver an improved digital customer experience.
We continue to consider the potential risks arising from technological advances, such as artificial intelligence, as well as
the opportunities this may present for our business and our customers.
The Group is planning to implement a new finance and property management system to future-proof our reporting
and operational activities with the support of an independent implementation partner. A governance framework has
been established for the project, which includes a programme steering group led by the Chief Financial & Operating
Officer with oversight by the Executive Committee, Audit Committee and Board. The 2025/26 internal audit plan will
be focusing on the implementation of the new system, including the project’s governance, the data migration strategy
and the assessment of the system integration plan.
Failure to profitably deliver the Flex Strategy
The failure to appropriately structure
our activities, achieve appropriate
pricing, maximise operational
efficiencies, deliver target growth or
adequately control costs (including
through customer retention) impacts
the delivery of our Flex office strategy
and our ability to generate appropriate
risk-adjusted returns. Furthermore,
as we scale up our Flex office delivery
and increase our focus on service
provision, the failure by GPE and/
or its service partners to deliver high
quality service impacts customer
satisfaction, demand and retention
and asset values.
1
Maintain
sustainability
and customer
leadership
2
Enhance
portfolio
through sales
and acquisitions
3
Deliver on our
Flex ambition
4
Lease the
HQ and
Flex deliveries
5
Deliver
the committed
schemes
6
Prepare
the pipeline
– Board and management oversight of the development and implementation
of the Flex strategy and business plan with regular review of Flex KPIs to
monitor performance.
– Board annual strategy review with regular market updates.
– Regular Flex updates and formal quarterly updates to the Executive
Committee with reporting at scheduled Board meetings.
– Dedicated Flex leadership and team in place with senior design and delivery,
customer relationship and retention and operational capabilities. Regular
review of skills and capabilities to ensure appropriate resourcing is in
place for the effective delivery of service and experience.
– Customer First programme and strategy in place, led by our dedicated
Customer Experience team, to drive customer engagement and insight
and to ensure our customers’ occupational needs are met.
– Quarterly review of individual assets plans and the market generally.
– Close management oversight of costs and services, including design
and delivery.
– Flex Design Guidelines & Principles in place to provide consistency
and increase efficiencies across the portfolio.
– Board and management oversight of our Digital, Technology and
Innovation Strategy and related initiatives to support customer needs.
No change
To profitably deliver our Flex Strategy and scale up our Flex operations, we have built a platform to deliver this
operationally intensive side of our business, control the associated cost base and generate appropriate risk-adjusted
returns. We have also recruited additional expertise to focus on improving management information, budgeting,
customer experience, design and delivery.
In order to expand our Flex office offers, and meet our ambitious targets for growth, we are on-site at four refurbishments
to provide new dedicated Fully Managed spaces, and we are also converting a significant number of individual floors across
our portfolio. During the year, we acquired £47.6 million of new opportunities for our Fully Managed offerings, including
The Courtyard, WC1, and 19/23 Wells Street, W1.
During the year, including our Flex Partnerships, we increased our committed Flex offerings across the portfolio, and they
now total 582,000 sq ft (or approximately 25% of our office portfolio). In total, we signed 41 new leases in our Flex space, at a
combined 10.1% ahead of March 2024 ERV. This included leasing the majority of our newly launched Fully Managed buildings
at SIX St Andrew Street, EC4 and 31/34 Alfred Place, WC1. At the year end, the annualised Net Operating Income from our
Fully Managed portfolio was £16.1 million, well ahead of our target for the year. We retained 91% of our Fully Managed
customers at break or expiry for the year, substantially ahead of the 50% underwrite assumption, and we have recently
appointed a Fully Managed Customer Retention Lead to help maximise customer retention rates.
We continue to evolve our operating model and closely monitor costs and prospective risk-adjusted returns as we
refine our offer. A Flex management pack with operational KPIs is used to monitor performance and maximise returns.
To date, we remain encouraged by the leasing performance and feedback we have had for our products, which was
reflected in this year’s independent customer satisfaction survey, where our Net Promoter Score remained high at +48.3 for
our Fully Managed spaces. The ongoing development of our Customer First programme is designed to ensure continuous
feedback and provide valuable insight to help us deliver the type and quality of services our customers demand.
93
Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Strategic Report
Annual review
In this section:
95 Introduction from the Chair
98 Governance at a glance
100 The Board
102 Division of responsibilities
104 Leadership and purpose
107 Engaging with our employees
109 Board consideration of stakeholder
interests and s.172(1) matters
112 Composition, succession and evaluation
118 Audit, risks and internal controls
126 Directors’ remuneration report
146 Report of the Directors
150 Directors’ responsibilities statement
Governance
NEW
ACQUISITION
19/23 Wells Street, W1
See pages 16 and 17
for more on how we’ve
grown our Flex and Fully
Managed offering.
94 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Introduction from the Chair
Dear fellow shareholder
I am delighted to present this year’s Corporate Governance
report for the financial year ended 31 March 2025.
The Board recognises that how the Group does business
is as important as what it does. Our strong governance
framework, with high standards set from the top, is a
key factor in our ability to deliver sustainable business
performance, generate value for our shareholders
and contribute to wider society.
At GPE, the Board’s support, advice and interaction extend
beyond the boardroom, supporting our efforts to promote
and monitor culture and ensure its alignment with our
purpose, values and strategy.
Board focus and oversight
Key areas of the Board’s focus during the year have included
Board succession and our response to market conditions
through our rights issue and bond issuance. The Board has also
continued to focus on driving our strategy, including the growth
of our Flex offerings alongside our development pipeline,
stakeholder engagement and progressing our sustainability
and diversity and inclusion agendas. Further details can be
found in ‘What we did in 2024/25’ on pages 110 and 111.
UK Corporate Governance Code
and s.172 reporting
This report demonstrates how we have applied the principles
and complied with the provisions of the UK Corporate
Governance Code 2018 (the Code) during the year and our
approach to governance in practice. Our Code compliance
statement can be found on page 98. Details of how the
Board has discharged its duty under s.172 of the Companies
Act 2006 can be found on pages 77 and 106 to 111.
We have been applying the updated UK Corporate Governance
Code published in January 2024 (2024 Code) since our financial
year end and will be reporting on our compliance with the
applicable provisions in next year’s Annual Report.
Board composition
Succession planning is an important part of our governance
processes. With Nick Hampton’s and my own nine-year tenure
due to be completed in 2025, succession planning for the
Senior Independent Director and Chair roles has been a key
priority for the Board and Nomination Committee.
Following a comprehensive process, William Eccleshare
was selected to succeed me as Chair when I step down at
the conclusion of the 2025 AGM. William joined the Board
as Chair Designate on 1 May 2025.
Nick Hampton retired from the Board on 3 April 2025 and was
succeeded as Senior Independent Director by Karen Green.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Nick for his
valuable contributions and insights throughout his tenure.
Further details regarding the Board changes in the year, and
our Board appointment and succession planning processes,
can be found in the Nomination Committee report on
pages 112 to 117.
Diversity and inclusion (D&I)
The Board has maintained its focus on strengthening D&I
at GPE, both in relation to the Board and more broadly
throughout the organisation. A diverse and inclusive Board
and workforce, which is representative of London and
our customers, is a strategic imperative as we enhance our
customer approach and develop our operations to meet
the evolving needs of a diverse customer base.
We have seen good progress in a number of areas and
we continue to monitor performance against our D&I targets
and wider initiatives to drive meaningful progress and to
foster a diverse and inclusive culture. The Board approved an
updated People Strategy and Diversity & Inclusion Plan in the
year to help build on our efforts to date. See ‘Our people and
culture’ on pages 67 to 72 and our Nomination Committee
report on pages 112 to 117 for further details, including
for our disclosure against UK Listing Rule targets.
Board effectiveness review
This year, we undertook an internal Board evaluation which
was led by Nick Hampton, our Senior Independent Director
at the time of the review. Details of this process, the findings
of the review and our progress against the actions arising
from the 2023/24 Board evaluation can be found on
pages 116 and 117.
Purpose, strategy and consideration of the
likely consequences of decisions for the long term
In a period of macro-economic volatility and geopolitical
tensions, the Board has continued to focus on the evolution and
execution of our strategy to ensure we maximise opportunities
to generate long-term value for our stakeholders in line with
our purpose – to unlock potential, creating premium
sustainable space for London to thrive.
This is my final Corporate Governance
report as Chair of GPE. I would like to
take this opportunity to thank my Board
colleagues, the Executive team and
GPE’s employees for their dedication and
commitment to this fantastic business
and the delivery of our strategic priorities.”
Richard Mully Chair
95Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
As part of the Board’s strategy discussions, we challenge
our purpose and strategic ‘givens’ and reflect on our
customers’ changing needs, the optimum size for our business,
whether our risk profile is appropriate and on our investment
and disposal strategies in the context of the property cycle.
The Group’s business model and strategy are outlined
on pages 05 to 09.
As the market continues to bifurcate, with demand
focusing on premium spaces which remain in limited supply,
our activities remain focused on our two complementary,
overlapping activities of HQ repositioning and the delivery
of flexible office spaces, providing quality, choice and
flexibility for our customers. We remain confident that
London’s commercial property market has enduring
appeal and we have been pleased to see strong customer
demand across our prime office and retail portfolio.
To allow the business to take advantage of emerging market
conditions and accretive acquisition opportunities, in May 2024
the Board approved our £350 million fully underwritten rights
issue, which completed in June 2024. Substantially all of the
proceeds have now been allocated through four acquisitions
at below replacement cost, including the capex we intend
to spend on the buildings. Our acquisitions of The Courtyard,
WC1, 19/23 Wells Street, W1, Whittington House, WC1 and
One Chapel Place, W1 serve to grow both our premium Fully
Managed offering and our HQ development pipeline.
In September 2024, the Board also approved the issue of
our £250 million unsecured sustainable bond to help fund
the development of our best-in-class schemes and support
our pathway to becoming net zero by 2040. The Board has
approved significant investment in our development programme
to deliver premium London spaces which are in high demand
during a period of near-term limited supply. In May 2025, we
were pleased to pre-let the entirety of the office space at
30 Duke Street, SW1 to leading global investment firm CD&R,
ahead of practical completion of the building in summer 2026.
We continue to remain opportunistic regarding potential
acquisitions, including to help achieve our ambition to grow
our Flex space to over one million sq ft, with Flex providing
significant income and value growth opportunity in the
medium term. As investment market conditions evolve, our
focus will likely turn to recycling capital and opportunities
to dispose of more mature assets where our business plans
are substantially complete.
Despite the strength of the Group’s operational performance
in the year, macro conditions have continued to impact market
sentiment and share price performance across the real estate
sector. This disconnect remains an area of focus for the Board
as we work to drive performance and capitalise on evolving
market conditions to deliver value for shareholders.
Stakeholder engagement and support
Building and nurturing strong relationships with our stakeholders
is critical to our success and is intrinsic in our day-to-day activities.
As well as direct engagement, a key part of the Board’s role is
to oversee the work undertaken by the GPE team to maintain
and strengthen these relationships.
We have continued to engage extensively with our colleagues
to understand what matters most to them. This year, to enhance
the Board’s approach, we have introduced an additional
workforce engagement format (‘A lunch with…’) to allow
our Non-Executive Directors and colleagues to explore key
topics in a smaller forum (see pages 107 and 108 for details).
We were pleased to see many positive employee engagement
scores this year, as set out on pages 68 and 69, and the Board
continues to listen to colleague feedback and to oversee
initiatives designed to further strengthen our inclusive culture.
Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and
our customer approach continues to be a real differentiator,
delivering high quality, personal customer experiences every
day. We are pleased that this was reflected in our portfolio
Net Promoter Score of +26.1, which is significantly ahead
of the industry average. We continue to focus on customer
and supplier engagement as we further embed our Customer
First approach and progress our sustainability ambitions.
Further details of how we engage with our stakeholders
are set out on pages 67 to 77 and 106 to 111.
Sustainability and the impact of the
Company’s operations on the community
and the environment
Sustainability is integral to our offer and sits at the core of
our purpose. The Board sees sustainability as a differentiator
and an opportunity for GPE. It is an economic and strategic
imperative as well as a moral obligation. Sustainability, climate
change and our wider ESG considerations are therefore
integrated across all our business activities.
During the year, the Board has received regular reports
and updates from our Sustainability and Social Impact Director
and has held detailed discussions regarding our sustainability
objectives, strategy, risks and opportunities. Since the adoption
of our revised Roadmap to Net Zero v.2.0 in May 2024 which I
reported on last year, we have continued to innovate to help
us achieve our ambitions and reduce our carbon impacts.
In November 2024, the Board approved the introduction of
a Circularity Score, and we will now measure the percentage
of reused materials incorporated into our developments
and major refurbishments against set targets. Further details
can be found on page 66.
We have continued to oversee the delivery of our Social
Impact Strategy and, in April 2025, were pleased to adopt
version 2.0 to increase our focus on areas where GPE can
deliver the most meaningful change. See pages 41, 52 and
53 for further details regarding our Social Impact Strategy
and our charity partnerships.
Introduction from the Chair continued
96 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Maintaining a reputation for high
standards of business conduct
We aspire to the highest standards of conduct and, together
with a culture of continuous improvement in standards and
performance, this helps to ensure that good governance
extends beyond the boardroom.
Annually, the Board approves the Group’s Financial Crime,
Ethics, Gifts and Hospitality and Whistleblowing Policies,
each of which are also reviewed in advance by the Audit
Committee. Each of these policies is available on our
website at www.gpe.co.uk/about-us/governance
Each year, the Board considers and approves our Modern
Slavery Statement, which explains the activities we have
undertaken during the year as we seek to ensure that
there is no slavery, forced labour or human trafficking
within our business or in our supply chains. Our Modern
Slavery Statement is available at www.gpe.co.uk/our-
modern-slavery-statement
We seek sustainable long-term, two-way relationships with
our supply chain, building mutual trust to deliver exceptional
results in a responsible way. Our Supplier Code of Conduct,
which is available on our website at www.gpe.co.uk/
our-relationships/our-suppliers, sets out the standards
we require of our suppliers to help ensure they operate
ethically and responsibly.
More on how we behave can be found on pages 123, 124
and 148.
Engaging with our shareholders
We believe that communication with our shareholders is key.
In addition to our comprehensive investor relations programme
led by Toby Courtauld and Nick Sanderson, as detailed on page
76, as Chair of GPE, I seek periodic engagement with many of
our institutional shareholders to discuss and hear their views
on GPE’s business and governance arrangements. I know
that William Eccleshare, as GPE’s next Chair, looks forward to
continuing this engagement and meeting with shareholders
in due course.
Myself, William as Chair Designate, and Karen Green as Senior
Independent Director, are available to meet with shareholders
as appropriate. Each of our Committee Chairs will also seek
engagement with shareholders on significant matters related
to their areas of responsibility. Over the coming year, Emma
Woods hopes to engage with many of our largest shareholders
to discuss any proposed changes to our Directors’ remuneration
policy before it is put to a shareholder vote at the 2026 AGM.
The AGM also provides the Board with a valuable opportunity
to engage with and answer questions from all our shareholders.
Arrangements for the 2025 AGM can be found in our 2025
AGM Notice and we look forward to welcoming shareholders
to the meeting.
Looking ahead
This is my final Corporate Governance report before I step
down from the Board at the conclusion of the 2025 AGM,
when, subject to his election to the Board by shareholders,
I will hand the reins to William Eccleshare. My eight-and-a-
half years at GPE have coincided with a period of significant
structural change and uncertainty in our markets, driven in
particular by Brexit, the global pandemic and subsequent
macro and geopolitical events. During this period, the Board
and management team have worked to develop the strategy
and reposition GPE in response to market conditions and
changing customer needs. From the creation and growth
of our Flex platform alongside our HQ development activities,
to strengthening our customer-centric approach and driving
forward our ambitious sustainability and D&I agendas,
there is much we have achieved.
I am delighted to be succeeded as Chair by someone of
William’s calibre. William brings excellent experience and
leadership capabilities which will be of great value to the
Board and management team going forward.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my Board
colleagues, the Executive team and GPE’s employees for their
unwavering dedication and commitment to this fantastic
business, and I wish them and GPE every success for the future.
Richard Mully
Chair
20 May 2025
97
Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Governance at a glance
Governance highlights
Capital raisings approved:
£350m
fully underwritten rights issue
£250m
seven-year sustainable bond
See pages 19 and 109
Acquisitions approved:
– Whittington House, WC1;
– 19/23 Wells Street, W1; and
– One Chapel Place, W1.
Other key activities:
– Committed to the developments
of The Courtyard, WC1 and Minerva
House, SE1.
– Approved lease renewals with
ITN at 200 & 214 Gray’s Inn Road.
– Approved GPE’s revised Roadmap
to Net Zero.
– Approved GPE’s updated Social
Impact Strategy.
– Approved a new £150 million
ESG-linked Revolving Credit Facility.
– Endorsed the updated People Plan
and D&I Strategy.
Board changes since 31 March 2025:
William Eccleshare joined as
Chair Designate on 1 May 2025 and,
subject to shareholder election,
will succeed Richard Mully as Chair
following the 2025 AGM.
Karen Green became Senior Independent
Director (SID) from 4 April 2025, succeeding
Nick Hampton.
Statement by the Directors on compliance with
the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code
The UK Corporate Governance Code 2018 (the Code), available to view on
the Financial Reporting Council’s website (www.frc.org.uk), applied to the
financial year ended 31 March 2025. The Board considers that it has complied
in full with the provisions of the Code during the year. Details of how the principles
of the Code have been applied can be found in this Corporate Governance
report and other sections of the Annual Report as signposted below.
1. Leadership and purpose
Provides an overview of the activities undertaken by the Board in the year, how
the Board has considered its s.172 responsibilities and its governance framework.
– Overview of the Board and its work pages 95 to 110
– Purpose, values and culture pages 104 and 105
– Governance framework pages 102 and 103
– Stakeholder engagement and s.172 pages 73 to 78, 106 to 111
– Workforce polices, practices and engagement pages 67 to 72, 105 to 108, 131
2. Division of responsibilities
Outlines the roles of the Board and its Directors.
– The role of the Chair, Chief Executive, SID and others pages 103 and 104
– Independence pages 99 to 101
– External commitments and conflicts of interest pages 100 to 101, 112 to 113, 148
– Board resources pages 100 to 103
3. Composition, succession and evaluation
Sets out the key processes which ensure that the Board and its Committees
have the right skills and can operate effectively.
– Board appointments pages 112 to 115
– Board skills, experience and knowledge pages 100 and 101
– Board evaluation pages 116 and 117
4. Audit, risk and internal control
Explains the role of the Board and the Audit Committee in ensuring the integrity
of the financial statements and maintaining effective risk management and
internal controls.
– External and internal auditors pages 118 to 125
– Fair, balanced and understandable pages 118 and 150
– Internal controls and risk management pages 79 to 93, 123 to 125
5. Remuneration
Describes the Company’s remuneration arrangements in respect of its Directors,
how these have been implemented in 2024/25 and will apply for 2025/26 and
how the arrangements support our strategy and promote long-term success
for GPE.
– Directors’ remuneration report pages 126 to 145
The updated UK Corporate Governance Code was published in January 2024
(the 2024 Code) and the majority of its provisions apply to GPE for the year
commencing 1 April 2025. The Board has been applying the relevant provisions
of the 2024 Code since the financial year end and will be reporting on its
compliance with the applicable provisions in next year’s Annual Report.
98 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Board at a glance (as at 31 March 2025 and 20 May 2025)
1
Board Directors’ tenure (as at 31 March 2025)
The Board’s attendance at scheduled
1
meetings in 2024/25
Non-executive Directors – independent
Executive Directors – not independent
Chair – independent on appointment
1
3
6
Male – 6
Female – 4
40
60
White – 9
Ethnically diverse – 1
10
90
Board composition and independence
No. of Directors
Board gender diversity % Board ethnicity %
’02 ’03 ’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ’12 ’13 ’14 ’15 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24 ’25
Toby Courtauld 22 yrs 11 mths
Nick Sanderson 13 yrs 8 mths
Dan Nicholson 3 yrs 7 mths
Richard Mully
1
8 yrs 5 mths
Mark Anderson 3 yrs 7 mths
Karen Green 1 yr 4 mths
Nick Hampton
2
8 yrs 7 mths
Vicky Jarman 5 yrs 2 mths
Champa Magesh 2 yrs 8 mths
Emma Woods 3 yrs 2 mths
Executive Directors
Non-Executive Directors
1. Richard Mully will step down from the Board at the conclusion of the 2025 AGM. William Eccleshare, Chair Designate, joined the Board on 1 May 2025.
2. Nick Hampton stepped down from the Board on 3 April 2025.
Chair
2
Richard Mully
N/A N/A
Executive Directors
3
Toby Courtauld
N/A N/A N/A
Nick Sanderson
N/A N/A N/A
Dan Nicholson
N/A N/A N/A
Non-Executive Directors
2
Mark Anderson
Karen Green
Nick Hampton
4,7
Vicky Jarman
Champa Magesh
5,7
Emma Woods
6,7
Board meeting attended
Board meeting not attended
Committee meeting attended
Committee meeting not attended
1. The Board and Committees also hold ad hoc meetings as necessary to consider matters of a time-sensitive nature.
2. Where not a member of a Committee, the Non-Executive Directors have a standing invitation to attend meetings of all Committees where appropriate.
3. Executive Directors are invited to attend for part or all of Committee meetings where appropriate.
4. Nick Hampton could not attend the Remuneration Committee meeting on 15 May 2024 due to an unforeseen scheduling conflict.
5. Champa Magesh could not attend the Remuneration Committee meeting on 23 April 2024 or the Board and Committee meetings on 21 and 22 January 2025
due to late scheduling conflicts with material business commitments.
6. Emma Woods was unable to attend the Audit and Nomination Committee meetings on 25 February 2025 due to a personal commitment.
7. Where Directors were unable to attend meetings, they received meeting papers in advance and were able to provide their comments to the respective meeting Chair.
Nomination CommitteeAudit CommitteeBoard Remuneration Committee
6
Scheduled meetings
4
Scheduled meetings
5
Scheduled meetings
5
Scheduled meetings
1. Nick Hampton stepped down from the Board on 3 April 2025. William Eccleshare joined the Board on 1 May 2025.
99Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
The Board
Richard Mully
N
Chair
Appointed to the Board:
1 December 2016
Appointed as Chair:
1 February 2019 (independent on appointment)
Relevant skills and experience:
Richard has extensive property, banking and
private equity experience. This, combined with
his extensive non-executive experience, enables
him to provide constructive leadership to the
Board and support and challenge to management
and the wider business for the benefit of all
stakeholders. Richard was formerly Chair of
Arlington Business Parks Partnership LLP, Vice
Chair and member of the Supervisory Board of
Alstria Office REIT-AG, co-founder and Managing
Partner of Soros Real Estate Partners LLC, a Non-
Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration
Committee of Standard Life Aberdeen plc and
Senior Independent Director at ISG, Hansteen
Holdings and St Modwen Properties.
Current external commitments:
Chair of RX Propellant Pvt Ltd, a private company
based in India; Advisor to TPG Global LLC and
Director of Starr Street Limited (which coinvests in,
and acts as, a corporate director of several TPG-
controlled European private real estate companies);
Senior Advisor of Brydell Partners, a private UK
investment firm.
Nick Sanderson
E
S
S
I
D
Chief Financial & Operating Officer
Joint venture directorships:
Director of the GHS Limited Partnership
and the Great Ropemaker Partnership
general partners
Appointed to the Board:
25 July 2011
Relevant skills and experience:
Nick joined the Group as Finance Director, was
subsequently promoted to Finance & Operations
Director and is now Chief Financial & Operating
Officer. He was formerly Partner, Head of Real Estate
Corporate Finance Advisory at Deloitte, following ten
years of real estate investment banking experience in
Europe and Asia with Nomura, Lehman Brothers and
UBS Investment Bank. Nick’s wide-ranging property-
related financial experience combined with strategic
and corporate finance skills enables him to provide
valuable support in developing, implementing and
articulating the Company’s strategy, and taking
leadership over the delivery of a wide range
of financial and operational matters, along with
our Flex, digital and technology and corporate
communication activities.
Current external commitments:
Member of the Reporting and Accounting
Committee of EPRA; Trustee of the Outward
Bound Trust.
Dan Nicholson
E
S
H
Executive Director
Joint venture directorships:
Director of the Great Ropemaker Partnership,
the Great Victoria Partnership and the Great
Victoria Partnership (No. 2) general partners
Appointed to the Board:
21 September 2021
Relevant skills and experience:
Dan’s significant sector and business expertise
enables him to provide valuable support in
developing and implementing the Company’s
strategy. Dan has responsibility for the Investment,
Portfolio Management, Development Management
and Health and Safety teams. He has extensive
knowledge of the real estate industry and, prior
to joining GPE, spent over ten years with Tishman
Speyer for the majority of which he ran their UK
business. Dan started his career as a surveyor
at Lambert Smith Hampton before gaining
broad property investment, development and
asset management experience in a number of
organisations, including at City & West End Property
Group, Quintain Estates & Development plc and
real estate private equity firm, Three Delta LLP.
Current external commitments:
None.
William Eccleshare
N
Chair Designate
Appointed to the Board:
1 May 2025 (as an independent
Non-Executive Director)
Appointment as Chair of the Board
and Nomination Committee:
3 July 2025 (post AGM)
Relevant skills and experience:
William has extensive leadership experience gained
through both executive and non-executive roles
and a strong background in marketing, branding,
business transformation, growth and innovation.
His significant business and board-level experience
will enable him to provide valuable leadership
of the Board in the delivery of the Company’s
strategy. William was previously Senior Independent
Director of Britvic plc, a Non-Executive Director
of Hays plc, Deputy Chairman of Clear Media
Limited and Executive Vice-Chair of Clear Channel
Outdoor Holdings, Inc. William’s executive career
was spent in senior leadership and commercial
roles in advertising, media and consumer-focused
businesses, having most recently been Chief
Executive of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc.
from 2012 to 2021. He is a former partner of McKinsey
& Co having led the firm’s European Marketing
practice, prior to which he was CEO of advertising
agencies within WPP and the Interpublic Group.
Current external commitments:
Senior Independent Director of Centaur Media plc;
Chair of Team ITG, a privately owned digital media
business; Chair of the Design Council.
Toby Courtauld
E
S
D
Chief Executive
Joint venture directorships:
Director of the GHS Limited Partnership
general partner
Appointed to the Board:
8 April 2002
Relevant skills and experience:
Toby joined the Group as Chief Executive and has
more than three decades of extensive experience
in real estate. He was previously with the property
company MEPC for 11 years where he gained broad
experience ranging from portfolio management
through to corporate transactions and general
management as a member of the Group Executive
Committee. He has previously been a member of the
Council of Imperial College, London, and President
and member of the British Property Federation
Board and Policy Committee. Toby’s significant
knowledge of the Company and the sector enables
him to provide broad leadership of the business
internally and externally, through the successful
design and implementation of the Company’s
strategy, values and business plans and their
communication to a wide range of stakeholders.
Current external commitments:
Director of The New West End Company;
Non-Executive Director of Liv-ex Limited.
Chair
Executive Directors
Chair Designate
100 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Non-Executive Directors (independent)
RNA E S S H
Committee Chair:
Committee memberships:
A
Audit Committee
E Executive Committee
N
Nomination Committee
R
Remuneration Committee
S Sustainability Committee
D
Disclosure Committee
H
Health and Safety Committee
S
Social Impact Committee
I
Inclusion Committee
Board changes up to 20 May 2025
– Nick Hampton stepped down from
the Board on 3 April 2025 and was
succeeded as Senior Independent
Director by Karen Green.
– William Eccleshare joined the Board
as Chair Designate on 1 May 2025.
Mark Anderson
A
N
R
Non-Executive Director
Appointed to the Board:
1 September 2021
Relevant skills and experience:
Mark is currently Property and International
Managing Director of Whitbread PLC and leads
its International businesses, Group Property and
Procurement functions and M&A activities. He
previously spent 16 years at J Sainsbury PLC in a
variety of senior positions, including managing
all aspects of its property estate. His significant
property, operational and customer service
knowledge and expertise, gained over many years,
enable him to provide valuable strategic insight and
challenge to Board and Committee discussions.
Current external commitments:
Property and International Managing Director
of Whitbread PLC; Trustee of Tourism for All UK.
Champa Magesh
A
N
R
Non-Executive Director
Appointed to the Board:
1 August 2022
Relevant skills and experience:
Champa is currently Managing Director for the
Hospitality division at The Access Group, a private
equity-owned business management software
provider. Champa has over 20 years’ international
business experience gained in multiple industries
and diverse functional areas, underpinned by a
strong technology focus, and a background in
leading successful customer-facing and digital
transformation initiatives. Her significant digital
transformation, technology, operational and broad
commercial experience enable her to provide
valuable insight as GPE evolves its strategy, products
and Customer First approach. Champa was formerly
President of Trainline Partner Solutions, where she
was responsible for Trainline’s business travel and
white label businesses. Prior to this, Champa held
leadership positions at Amadeus IT Group, American
Express, Royal Bank of Scotland and Cisco Systems.
Current external commitments:
Managing Director for the Hospitality division
at The Access Group.
Emma Woods
A
N
R
Non-Executive Director
Appointed to the Board:
1 February 2022
Relevant skills and experience:
Emma’s extensive operational, customer service,
digital and marketing skills, combined with her non-
executive and remuneration committee experience,
allow her to provide valuable strategic insight and
challenge in her non-executive duties on the Board,
as well as in her role as Chair of the Remuneration
Committee. Emma was formerly a Non-Executive
Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee
of Huel Limited, Senior Independent Director
and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of
The Gym Group plc, and Chief Executive Officer at
Wagamama. She also held senior marketing roles
at Merlin Entertainments, Pizza Express and Unilever.
Current external commitments:
Chair of Tortilla Mexican Grill plc and Ancient+Brave;
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the
Remuneration Committee at Goldonder AB (Abba
Voyage).
Karen Green
A
N
R
Senior Independent Director
Appointed to the Board:
1 December 2023 (Senior Independent Director
from 4 April 2025)
Relevant skills and experience:
Karen’s considerable City, financial services and
both executive and non-executive experience
enable her to provide valuable commercial insight
to the Board and a strong basis on which to offer
counsel in her role as Senior Independent Director.
Karen was previously a Council Member and Chair
of the Investment Committee at Lloyd’s of London.
She was formerly Chief Executive of Aspen UK and
prior to that, held various senior corporate finance,
M&A and private equity roles at GE Capital Europe
and Stone Point Capital, having started her career
in investment banking at Baring Brothers and
Schroders plc.
Current external commitments:
Senior Independent Director and Chair of the
Sustainability Committee of Phoenix Group
Holdings plc; Non-Executive Director and Chair
of the Remuneration Committee at Admiral Group
plc; Non-Executive Director and Risk and Audit
Committee Chair of Miller Insurance Services LLP
and Ben Nevis Cleanco Limited; Non-Executive
Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at TMF
Group Limited; Non-Executive Director of Hamilton
Insurance Group; Trustee of the Wellbeing of
Women charity; Advisor to Cytora Limited.
Vicky Jarman
A
N
R
Non-Executive Director
Appointed to the Board:
1 February 2020
Relevant skills and experience:
Vicky’s significant financial, commercial and
non-executive experience enable her to contribute
to the strategy of the business and its long-term
sustainable success, and provide a strong basis for
her effective leadership of the Audit Committee.
She is a chartered accountant who qualified at
KPMG before spending over ten years with Lazard
Ltd working in its Investment Banking team and
then as Chief Operating Officer for its London and
Middle East operations. Vicky has previously been
Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Audit
Committees of Equiniti Group plc, Hays plc and De
La Rue plc and a Non-Executive Director of Melrose
Industries plc, Signature Aviation plc and Entain plc.
Current external commitments:
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit
Committee at Aston Martin Lagonda Global
Holdings plc; Non-Executive Director of AerCap
Holdings N.V.
101Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Audit Committee
– oversees financial reporting,
including accounting policies;
– monitors GPE’s internal control
and risk management systems;
– scrutinises the activities and the
effectiveness and independence
of the external auditor;
– conducts, as appropriate, the tender
process for the external auditor;
– reviews the internal audit plan, internal
audit reports and the effectiveness
of the internal auditor.
See pages 118 to 125
Remuneration Committee
– reviews the Directors’
remuneration policy, performance-
related schemes and share-based
incentive plans, ensuring practices
are designed to support and
promote the long-term success
of the Company and delivery
of its strategy;
– determines the remuneration
of the Executive Directors, the Chair,
members of the Executive Committee
and other senior executives in the
context of our culture and wider
workforce remuneration;
– approves the Directors’
remuneration report.
See pages 126 to 145
Nomination Committee
– reviews the Board and Committee
structure, composition and size,
taking into account the required skills,
experience, independence, knowledge
and diversity based on the needs and
strategy of the Group;
– recommends appointments to the Board;
– manages succession planning for the
Board and senior executives;
– oversees the process for Director inductions
and Board and Committee evaluation;
– approves senior management
appointments.
See pages 112 to 117
Disclosure Committee
– responsible for monitoring the
existence and development of
potential inside information, including
assessing whether information may be
considered to be ‘inside information’
and ensuring compliance with GPE’s
disclosure obligations.
Division of responsibilities
The Board’s overall duty is to promote the long-term sustainable success of the Company for its shareholders while having regard
to other relevant matters including broader stakeholder interests. It is also responsible for:
– establishing and monitoring the Company’s purpose, values and strategy and ensuring that these and its culture are aligned;
– providing and promoting effective and entrepreneurial leadership across the business within the Group’s governance framework;
– oversight of human resource levels and succession planning;
– approving major acquisitions, disposals, capital expenditure, leasing and financing arrangements and oversight of the Group’s
systems of governance, internal control and risk management; and
– oversight of climate change risk and the sustainability strategy.
See Board activities on pages 104 to 111
Sustainability Committee
– manages climate change
risk and resilience;
– reviews progress
and development of
sustainability strategy;
– monitors environmental
compliance;
– focuses on innovation
and opportunities
within the portfolio and
development pipeline.
See page 56
Health and Safety
Committee
– reviews the Group’s health
and safety compliance
and performance;
– oversees development and
implementation of the
health and safety strategy;
– identifies and
reviews opportunities
for improvement.
Social Impact Committee
– sets direction for the Group’s
social value creation;
– oversees implementation
of the Group’s Social
Impact Strategy,
charitable partnerships
and donations.
Inclusion Committee
– oversees Group diversity
and inclusion initiatives;
– oversees the work of
Employee Impact Groups;
– monitors feedback
and identifies areas
for improvement.
Governance framework: The role of the Board and the Committees
The Board
Board Committees
Responsible for the day-to-day management of the business, including implementing the Group’s strategy. It also oversees transactions,
monitors risks and opportunities and is responsible for Group-wide succession planning, resourcing and people development.
Executive Committee members provide updates at Board meetings and maintain regular dialogue with the Board.
See page 103
Executive Committee
Management Committees
102 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
The division of responsibilities of the Directors
The Board currently comprises the Non-Executive Chair, three Executive Directors and six independent Non-Executive Directors,
one of whom is Chair Designate, William Eccleshare, who will succeed Richard Mully as Chair from the conclusion of the 2025
AGM. The Chair and the other Non-Executive Directors meet regularly without the Executive Directors, and at least once a year
the Non-Executive Directors meet without the Chair. In addition, individual Directors meet routinely outside the formal Board
meetings as part of each Director’s contribution to the delivery of the Company’s strategy and review of operations. All Directors
have access to the advice and services of the General Counsel & Company Secretary, who supports the Board and is responsible
to the Chair on matters of corporate governance.
The Executive Directors meet every two weeks with senior management as the Executive Committee, chaired by the Chief Executive.
The Executive Committee makes decisions within the parameters set out in the Group’s Delegated Authorities which govern the
taking and escalation of significant decisions. Significant operational and market matters are communicated to the Non-Executive
Directors on a timely basis outside of the Board meetings.
The Board has agreed a clear division of responsibilities for the Chair, Chief Executive and Senior Independent Director, which are
set out in writing in each individual’s Terms of Reference and which are reviewed by the Board each year. The Board’s Schedule
of Responsibilities and each Board Committee’s Terms of Reference are also reviewed annually by the Board and the applicable
Committee. All are available on our website at www.gpe.co.uk/investors/governance
Roles and responsibilities of the Directors:
Chair Richard Mully
(William Eccleshare
will succeed Richard
and assume the
Chair’s responsibilities
from the conclusion
of the 2025 AGM)
Richard is responsible for leading the Board and for its effectiveness, meeting with
shareholders as appropriate, ensuring a culture of openness, transparency and debate
and helping the Chief Executive ‘to set the tone from the top’ on the Company’s purpose,
values and culture. As part of his role in leading the Board, he ensures that the Board
provides constructive input into the development of strategy, understands the views
of the Company’s key stakeholders and provides appropriate oversight, challenge
and support.
As Chair, Richard also leads the Nomination Committee.
Chief
Executive
Toby Courtauld
Toby is responsible for setting the Group’s strategic direction, implementing the agreed
strategy, the operational and financial performance of the Group and the day-to-day
management of the Company, including setting the tone for, and ensuring oversight
of, the Company’s culture and ensuring the Board is aware of key stakeholders’ views.
As part of his role, Toby is responsible for leading the Executive and Sustainability
Committees, has executive responsibility for climate change and sustainability matters
and has responsibility for oversight of the Leasing, Customer Experience (from May 2025)
and Legal & Corporate Secretariat functions.
Chief Financial
& Operating
Officer
Nick Sanderson
Nick supports the Chief Executive in developing and implementing the Group’s strategy
and all financial matters. As part of his operations role, Nick has responsibility for
oversight of the valuation process, the HR, Flex and (from May 2025) Digital & Technology
functions and corporate communications. Nick also leads the Social Impact Committee.
Executive
Director
Dan Nicholson
Dan further supports the Chief Executive in developing and implementing the Group’s
strategy while he has specific responsibility for portfolio management, development
management and investment activities. Dan also leads the Health and Safety
Committee and has Board responsibility for health and safety.
Senior
Independent
Director
Karen Green
(Nick Hampton was
Senior Independent
Director during the
year under review;
he stepped down
from the Board on
3 April 2025)
As Senior Independent Director, Karen’s responsibilities include acting as a sounding
board for the Chair, leading the other independent Non-Executive Directors in the
performance evaluation of the Chair and being available to shareholders as required.
As part of her role, she also acts as an intermediary for the Non-Executive Directors
if necessary and is an independent point of contact in the Group’s whistleblowing
procedure. The Senior Independent Director is also responsible for the Chair’s
succession process as relevant, working closely with the Nomination Committee.
See page 113 for details of our recent Chair succession process, which was led by
Nick Hampton.
Independent
Non-Executive
Directors
William Eccleshare
(Chair Designate)
Mark Anderson
Karen Green
Vicky Jarman
Champa Magesh
Emma Woods
Responsible for bringing an external perspective and providing constructive challenge
and support to the Board’s deliberations and decision making, using their broad mix
of business skills, knowledge and experience acquired across different business sectors.
They are also responsible for monitoring the delivery of the agreed strategy within
the risk management framework set by the Board and promoting high standards of
integrity and corporate governance. As Committee Chair, Emma Woods is responsible
for leading the Remuneration Committee, while Vicky Jarman is responsible for leading
the Audit Committee. Each Committee Chair seeks engagement with shareholders,
as appropriate, on significant matters relating to their areas of responsibility.
103Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Leadership and purpose
Board activities
The Board has a duty to promote the long-term sustainable success of the Company for its shareholders, taking account of other
relevant matters including broader stakeholder interests. The Board typically meets for scheduled Board meetings six times a
year in addition to an annual strategy review session. The Board will hold ad hoc meetings as necessary to consider matters of
a time-sensitive nature, as it did for the Company’s rights issue and bond issue during the year. A forward agenda for the Board
is maintained to ensure that all necessary and appropriate matters are covered during the year and to allow sufficient time for
discussion and debate. The table below shows the matters considered at Board meetings during the year. The Board receives
papers and presentations in advance of meetings and senior managers are regularly invited to attend to provide insight and
feedback on specific matters.
May July September November January April
1
Purpose, strategy and implementation
Purpose and strategic review, discussion and setting of the business plan
Chief Executive’s report including market conditions dashboard, operational
parameters, strategic risks and opportunities, leasing activity, sustainability,
technology and innovation and team resourcing
–
Executive Director’s report on valuation, key portfolio and development
activities, asset strategies, the longer-term pipeline, new business opportunities
and health and safety updates
–
Chief Financial & Operating Officer’s report including forecasts, finance initiatives,
debt and equity markets updates, social impact updates and operational matters
including Flex, customer experience, corporate communications and HR
–
Shareholder analysis and/or investor relations updates
–
Board property tours
– – – – –
Risks
Formal review of risk management and internal controls
– – – –
Ongoing monitoring of principal and emerging risks
Governance
Review of half-year and full-year results, Annual Report and accounts,
going concern statement, viability statement, dividend policy and
analyst presentations
– – – –
Stakeholder feedback, including investors and analysts, employees, customers,
communities, suppliers, joint venture partners and local planning authorities
Reports from Board Committees
–
Corporate governance matters including delegation of authority levels,
Terms of Reference, Code compliance
– – – – –
Health and safety updates
Sustainability updates including vision, strategy, targets and Roadmap
Corporate Responsibility including review of the Company’s Modern Slavery
Statement, Financial Crime, Ethics, Gifts and Hospitality and Whistleblowing Policies
– – – –
Evaluation
Board evaluation
– – – – –
Conflicts of interest
Board meeting matter
1. The Board meeting that would typically be held at the end of March was held shortly after the year end, on 2 April 2025.
See pages 110 and 111 for examples of significant matters and major transactions discussed by the Board during the year.
Our purpose, strategy, values and culture
Our purpose is to unlock potential, creating premium
sustainable space for London to thrive. In setting our purpose,
we believe our role relates not only to our buildings, but also
to the people who live and work there and what and how
we contribute to the wider public realm, community and
environment. The Board sets our strategy and strategic
priorities to align with our purpose, which informs our decisions
regarding our acquisition, repositioning, operation or sale
of properties. Our purpose is underpinned by our values
and behaviours, which encapsulate who we are and how
we do business. At GPE, everyone is accountable for living
by our shared set of behaviours, which form an important
part of our workforce policies and remuneration processes.
Our culture inspires us to go further for our customers, partners,
each other and the business. As we innovate and evolve to grow
our customer, sustainability, technology and flexible space
ambitions, our strong culture has never been more important
and we must therefore work hard to preserve and enhance it.
A key objective for the Board is to monitor our culture, and to
address any instances where there is a misalignment between our
purpose, culture, values and behaviours. Our culture is not about
rules, but about actions, and the Board and senior management
seek to lead by example in communicating and demonstrating
the values and behaviours which lie at the heart of our culture.
104 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
How the Board monitors culture and ensures the desired culture has been embedded
The Board is committed to ensuring that the tone of our values is set from the top by both the Board and senior
management. Our smaller size and the high level of regular Board interaction with employees facilitates the Board’s
assessment and monitoring of our culture and how the culture has been embedded. We do this through a variety
of channels, as described below:
How we do it
– inclusion of culture, values and behaviour-led questions
within employee surveys, with Board analysis of the results;
– regular face-to-face engagement with employees as part
of our Non-Executive Director breakfast programme, our
programme of employee engagement sessions, our Board
mentoring activities, Board and Committee presentations,
property tours and other meetings and engagements
throughout the year (see pages 107 and 108);
– demonstration of our values is an integral part of our annual
performance reviews, with outcomes being reported
via the Remuneration Committee. 360-degree feedback
reviews for senior management prompt open feedback
on culture and values which then feeds into an individual’s
personal development plan. Our personal bonus structure
ensures a strong link between the values and remuneration,
with a proportion of each employee’s personal bonus
based on their values and behaviours;
– Executive Committee members hold regular ‘listening’
sessions with colleagues across the business, the feedback
from which is discussed with the Board;
– policies, pay and diversity and inclusion activities are reviewed
and developed to ensure they appropriately capture and
reflect our values. The Board is updated on the work of our
Inclusion Committee which oversees the work of our Employee
Impact Groups and performance against our D&I Plan
and metrics;
– reviews of compliance, whistleblowing statistics, health
and safety incidents and internal audit reports to identify
and address any areas not meeting expected standards
of conduct or behaviour;
– Board participation in our annual Community Day, which is
designed to strengthen our relationships and understanding
of the communities in which we operate;
– feedback from our stakeholder engagement programmes,
including our customer survey results, helps the Board
to assess how the values and behaviours are embedded
in our interactions with third parties and the way we do
business; and
– review of engagement with suppliers including related
payment practices (see page 75).
Protecting and enhancing our culture
The Board is satisfied that there remains a high level of
engagement with our values and that our activities continue to
embed our desired culture. In particular, it was pleasing to see
strong results in key areas of the 2025 employee engagement
survey. However, protecting our culture and further embedding
our values remains a continuous area of focus. Following this year’s
feedback, a number of actions have been taken to help further
strengthen our culture and how the Board monitors it, and to drive
the right behaviours through our activities. These have included:
– implementing, reviewing and updating our People
Strategy and D&I Plan to positively impact our culture
through targeted activities and a focus on diversity, equity
and inclusion (see pages 67 to 72);
– supplementing our NED-employee engagement programme
with the introduction of new ‘A lunch with…’ sessions to
encourage interactive discussions in a smaller forum
(see page 108);
– continuing the work of our Employee Impact Groups aimed at
making our culture even more inclusive through engagement,
initiatives and events. We have also broadened the remit of
these important groups to capture diversity in its widest sense
(see page 71);
– we launched our GPE Thrive Learning programme to provide
training and learning opportunities for all colleagues across
a range of areas alongside targeted training in areas such
as inclusion and privilege;
– having launched our new GPE value – ‘We value every
customer’ – at the start of the year, we have strengthened
our customer engagement activities and insights and
our customer-centric approach across our business.
This year’s customer NPS results highlighted areas of strong
progress alongside opportunities for further improvements
(see pages 73 and 74);
– demonstrating support for wellbeing and good mental
health by sponsoring activities throughout the year
and regularly communicating the resources available
to colleagues;
– overseeing the implementation of the Digital, Technology &
Innovation Strategy, including the introduction of ‘Innovation
Champions’ across the business to encourage innovation
and an entrepreneurial spirit; and
– approving the adoption of v.2.0 of our Social Impact Strategy
to ensure we focus on areas in which GPE can create a lasting
positive social impact in our communities.
105Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Stakeholder engagement
Understanding the views of all our stakeholders and fostering of business relationships
The Board oversees and receives regular updates throughout the year on engagement activities with our key stakeholders.
It develops and enhances its understanding of key stakeholder perspectives in a number of different ways, including the following:
Investors The Chair engages with major shareholders on matters of governance and strategy,
and Committee Chairs engage, as appropriate, on their areas of responsibility. Formal
and informal discussions are held with shareholders in the context of the Company’s AGM,
which all shareholders are invited to attend. Those unable to attend in person are given
the opportunity to ask questions in advance of the meeting. We have a comprehensive
investor relations programme with regular reporting of feedback to the Board.
Board members also attend investor events to hear views first-hand. Our Executive
Directors and Corporate Finance team have regular dialogue with our debt providers
and report to the Board on their feedback.
Our people High levels of direct engagement are maintained throughout the year through numerous
mechanisms, including our formal programmes of Non-Executive Director breakfast meetings
and employee engagement sessions, including our new ‘A lunch with…’ programme, our Non-
Executive Director mentoring programme, Board property tours, employee presentations and
other meetings and events. The Board also receives regular reports on employee feedback,
including from employee engagement surveys.
Customers The Board meets customers where possible as part of its cycle of property tours.
Board papers include regular updates on our customer engagement activities, including
feedback from customer meetings which are periodically attended by Executive Directors,
feedback from independent customer surveys, updates on discussions with property agents
and flexible office brokers, and feedback from industry events and marketing campaigns.
The Board also receives updates on occupier trends and market analysis from internal
and external presenters.
Joint venture partners Frequent engagement with joint venture partners throughout the year is led by our Executive
Directors, at least one of whom serves on each joint venture board, with regular updates
and reporting of key matters to the Board.
Communities Our Social Impact Strategy, which is designed to create a lasting positive social impact
in our communities, is set by the Board, with implementation overseen by our Social Impact
Committee which is chaired by the Chief Financial & Operating Officer. The Board receives
regular updates on activities, initiatives and progress against our commitments. Read more
on pages 52 and 53.
Local planning
authorities
Our relationships with key planning authorities are critical to the delivery of new spaces
in London. Our Executive Director and Development team regularly report to the Board
on recent engagement activities, including planning discussions, community considerations
and any development consultations involving key stakeholders and local residents.
Suppliers Engagement is led through our proactive teams, with information received through regular
Board reports and presentations. The Board often engages directly with contractors during
development site visits and may also receive external presentations from suppliers such
as property agents and valuers. The Audit Committee also reviews GPE’s supplier payment
practices and performance twice-yearly.
Further details of our relationships and engagement with key stakeholders, how stakeholder issues have been monitored
and considered by the Board through our scheduled Board meetings, and discussion of matters between these meetings,
are explained in more detail in:
Our stakeholder relationships on pages 73 to 77
Our people and culture on pages 67 to 72
Our approach to risk on pages 80 to 93
Engaging with our investors on pages 76 and 97
Engaging with our employees on pages 107 and 108
Impact of engagement on Board decisions on page 109
What we did in 2024/25 on pages 110 and 111
Leadership and purpose continued
106 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Engaging with our employees
Being a relatively small company of approximately
150 employees, principally based in one location, there is
a high level of visibility of the Board by employees and vice
versa. Given this high level of visibility, the Board has decided
not to adopt any of the three specific employee engagement
methods referred to in the Code at this time. Instead, we have
adopted workforce engagement arrangements which we
believe are most suitable for our organisation.
The Board keeps its engagement mechanisms under review
and, during the year, in order to encourage more open and
interactive discussions with employees, we were pleased to
introduce new, additional engagement sessions in a smaller
format to supplement our existing arrangements. The Board
believes these arrangements, as set out below, operated
effectively during the year to provide it with regular formal
and informal employee feedback for consideration as part
of its decision making process:
– a formal programme of breakfast meetings between the
Non-Executive Directors and members of the Executive
Committee and senior management. These meetings have
no fixed agenda and provide a useful forum to discuss what
is happening in day-to-day operations and the associated
challenges which might not be significant enough to warrant
formal reporting at Board meetings;
– a Non-Executive Director, on a rotational basis, presenting
to all employees in a discursive format on particular themes,
followed by a Q&A session. To facilitate these sessions,
we have set up an online portal for employees to raise
questions, anonymously if they wish, in advance of the event.
Employees are also invited to ask questions and to share
their views on the day. These sessions are also designed for
Board members to provide the Board’s views, as appropriate,
on matters raised through employee engagement, and
feedback from the sessions is reported to the Board;
– this year, given our continued focus on D&I and in response
to employee feedback, our female Non-Executive Directors
led two discussion sessions with groups of GPE women,
which focused on gender diversity and inclusion at GPE
(see page 108); and
– a new engagement format was subsequently introduced
in February 2025 whereby two of our Non-Executive
Directors meet with a small group of employees over lunch
(known internally as ‘A lunch with…’) to discuss certain
specific topics on which the Board is keen to hear employee
views. Participants, typically representing a broad section
of the workforce, are asked to consider key questions in
advance and can also raise questions and give feedback
on broader areas of interest to them (see page 108).
In addition to these arrangements, direct Board engagement
with employees during the year has included the following:
– in September, property tours of SIX St Andrew Street,
Minerva House, Woolyard and Bramah House involving
our Investment, Development, Project Management,
Leasing, Flex and Customer Experience teams;
– presentations made to the Board by the Executive Committee,
Heads of Department and other employees on key matters
including acquisitions, development appraisals, leasing,
our Flex business, customer experience, technology and
cyber security, health and safety, sustainability, financing,
leasing, investor relations, diversity and inclusion and
corporate governance;
– mentoring sessions between Non-Executive Directors and
members of senior management as part of our Non-Executive
Director mentoring programme;
– Board member attendance at Company-wide events,
including our annual Community Day;
– all-staff quarterly review meetings led by our Chief Executive
which provide an informal forum for employees to discuss
and raise questions regarding key activities at GPE; and
– all employees are invited to attend a weekly update meeting
on Monday mornings, led by our Chief Executive and the
other Executive Directors, to discuss key developments
and concerns.
During the year, we adopted a number of initiatives and activities
to maintain levels of employee engagement, wellbeing and
feedback, which we continue to evolve to further support
our people.
See more on pages 67 to 72
An audience with Karen Green
Our ‘Audience with…’ session was held
with Karen Green, hosted by Andrew White,
our Development Director.
Karen Green led a session in April 2024 with discussions
covering career progression and personal development,
our approach to customer service, the risks and opportunities
of both sustainability and artificial intelligence, the
importance of a strong culture and opportunities to improve
diversity and inclusion, both at GPE and across the industry.
These discussions supported the review of our D&I Strategy
and initiatives in the year. Colleagues also provided feedback
on employee engagement mechanisms more broadly, which
informed the introduction of additional Board workforce
engagement sessions in smaller formats.
107Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
A lunch with Richard Mully
and Vicky Jarman
Richard Mully and Vicky Jarman hosted
our inaugural ‘A lunch with…’ session.
The main theme for the session was ‘Key ingredients for
success’ in both a GPE context but also for colleagues in their
respective roles. Richard and Vicky introduced the objective
of the session, shared the Board’s perspectives on this key
topic as we look to deliver our ambitious growth plans,
and invited feedback from employees on opportunities that
could make a difference for colleagues and the business.
The group comprised a good mix of colleagues from across
the business with different backgrounds, tenures and levels of
seniority to offer a wide range of perspectives and insights.
There were engaging discussions on a number of topics,
including:
– welcome advancements in the use of technology
at GPE and how technology could be further used to
increase efficiencies, including in the area of internal
reporting. This will be a key objective as we implement
our new finance and property management system
and our Digital, Technology & Innovation Strategy;
– the challenges of career progression in a smaller
company and how GPE could retain, support and
develop its people in line with their career aspirations.
The feedback has been discussed by the Nomination
Committee and will help to inform its talent and
succession planning discussions;
– ways to further strengthen team communication
and collaboration, including to ensure a smooth
onboarding process for customers which our teams
are working to continuously improve;
– maximising productivity by ensuring meetings have a
clear purpose with clear outcomes. It was also discussed
how perfectionism could be an inhibitor to delivery; and
– the continued customer demand for Flex space
and its strategic significance for GPE.
Discussions were open and constructive and allowed
employees to provide valuable feedback to the Board
while participants welcomed the smaller, more informal
format which allowed them to share their perspectives
on some important topics.
Gender diversity and
inclusion sessions
As part of our continued focus on D&I, we held
two engagement sessions in the year with groups
of GPE women. The sessions allowed the Board
to hear first-hand feedback from our female
colleagues regarding GPE’s efforts to promote
gender diversity, equality and inclusion.
Vicky Jarman and Karen Green led the first session in
June 2024 and Champa Magesh and Emma Woods led
a second session in September 2024. In addition to hearing
employee views, each session provided a setting for our
female Non-Executive Directors to share their advice
and experiences as women in business.
Key discussion areas included:
– tackling imposter syndrome, boosting resilience
and workplace confidence and the value of informal
or peer mentoring, positive role models and male allies.
Learning and personal development tools available
to employees were also discussed;
– the value of GPE’s Employee Impact Groups as a
support network but also to raise awareness and
advocate change;
– fulfilling work environments and having clear career
goals, with Non-Executive Directors sharing their
experiences of navigating different career paths;
– the importance of diversity representation targets
in driving positive change;
– the value of flexible working arrangements and
a desire for more flexibility for parents of young
children during school holidays; and
– the need to understand the different motivational
drivers and views on working practices in a multi-
generational workforce, noting that empathy,
listening and understanding skills were key to
collaborative leadership for all.
The interactive sessions were well-received, and the
insightful discussions and feedback have helped to inform
our updated People Strategy and D&I Plan which were
approved by the Board during the year (see pages 68 to 72).
Following the feedback, it was decided to retain our
Hybrid Working Policy, while also introducing some
additional flexibility for colleagues to work from home
in August. We also introduced a new ‘You Day’ for 2025,
to allow employees to take a day’s leave for important
events in their lives, in addition to a new pension
salary sacrifice scheme.
“ It was a great opportunity for our
Non-Executive Directors to hear directly
about what was on colleagues’ minds in
a smaller format, and for attendees to
hear how well-informed and supportive
the Board is of our efforts.”
Hattie Fulford-Brown
Deputy General Counsel
Leadership and purpose continued
“ It was fantastic to listen to the experiences
of our female Non-Executive Directors
and to discuss with them how GPE can
support our employees, and in particular
the women in our workplace.”
Felicity Kelly
HR Business Partner
108
Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Board consideration of stakeholder interests and s.172(1) matters
Impact on decisions
Some examples of how the Board has considered stakeholder interests and s.172(1) Companies Act 2006 matters in
its decision making in 2024/25 are set out below and in ‘What we did in 2024/25’ on pages 110 and 111. Further details
on our stakeholder engagement, and our response to feedback, can also be found on pages 73 to 78.
£350 million rights issue
1 2 3 6
In May 2024, the Board approved our fully
underwritten £350 million rights issue.
The Board spent time, with input from its advisers,
discussing key considerations including macro and
market conditions and the deep pipeline of potential new
business opportunities which would allow GPE to invest
in scale, in line with its strategy and within an appropriate
timeframe, to deliver accretive returns. It was discussed
that, in addition to HQ opportunities, the pipeline
would also allow GPE to progress its Flex growth strategy
and increase its income returns.
The Board considered the appropriate structure for
an equity raise. Although it was recognised that certain
shareholders might prefer alternative means of raising
capital, it was determined that a rights issue would serve
to treat shareholders fairly and equally by allowing them
to participate in the transaction while giving new and
existing investors the chance to increase their holdings
through the purchase of nil paid rights and/or the
placing of rump shares.
To assist with the determination of the final issue price
and size of the rights issue, a wall-crossing exercise was
conducted with key shareholders so that their views
could be taken into account by the Board.
The Board considered that the timing of the rights issue
was key to take advantage of investment market conditions
by acquiring assets at a discount to replacement cost. This
would allow GPE to redevelop assets into prime, sustainable
HQ and Flex spaces to meet customer demand whilst
also providing opportunities for employees and fostering
business relationships with suppliers through acquisition,
development, leasing and asset management processes.
Following detailed discussions, the Board concluded
that the rights issue would promote the success of the
Company for the benefit of its shareholders as a whole,
having regard to the relevant factors set out in s.172
of the Companies Act 2006.
See more on page 19
Acquisition of One Chapel Place, W1
(Chapel Place)
1 2 4 6
In March 2025, the Board approved the acquisition
of Chapel Place for cash consideration based
on a property value of £56 million.
The Board noted how the acquisition presented the
opportunity to add to GPE’s HQ development pipeline in
a target prime West End location, serving the longer-term
interests of GPE and its stakeholders. Market analysis and
rental assumptions were reviewed which indicated the
likelihood of strong customer demand for prime assets
in an area with constrained supply.
The Board considered the financial impact of the
acquisition, including the expected risk-adjusted accretive
returns for GPE and its shareholders, which were in line
with the criteria set for the investment of the rights
issue proceeds.
The Board discussed the flexible business plans for the
asset, engagement with the local planning authority
and neighbouring property owners and their potentially
conflicting views, and the ability to add significant
massing to the building to unlock further returns.
The Board considered plans to refine existing designs
to enhance workspace quality, upgrade amenities and
maximise appeal for future customers. This included plans
to strengthen the sustainability, wellbeing and biodiversity
credentials of the building along with opportunities to
make public realm improvements and support local
community needs.
From an employee perspective, resourcing requirements
were considered, along with the development and wider
opportunities the acquisition would generate for employees
across the business.
Having regard to stakeholder interests, the alignment
of the proposals with GPE’s purpose and strategy and
the long-term sustainable value expected to be delivered
for stakeholders, the Board approved the acquisition
of the corporate vehicle holding the freehold interest
in Chapel Place.
See more on pages 6 and 30
1
Denotes strategic priorities for 2024/25 as set out on pages 08 and 09.
One Chapel Place, W1The Courtyard, WC1
109Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
May July September/October November/December January/February March/April
Strategy,
governance, risk
and opportunity
management
– Received updates from
management and GPE’s
corporate brokers on real
estate and equity market
conditions, including the
macro-economic and
geopolitical environment.
– Discussed the rich investment
opportunity pipeline and top
acquisition targets.
– Considered and subsequently
approved the £350 million
rights issue to capitalise on
new investment opportunities.
– Discussed asset strategies and
the timings of potential sales
in view of market conditions.
– Received an update on
activities being undertaken in
relation to the development
pipeline, including to progress
schemes at 2 Aldermanbury
Square, EC2, 30 Duke Street,
SW1, Minerva House, SE1 and
the Soho Square Estate, W1
and trends in development
costs.
– Received a health and
safety update and discussed
opportunities to strengthen
processes.
– Received an update from
GPE’s corporate brokers on
the positive market reaction
to the rights issue, sector
themes and their potential
strategic impacts.
– Received an update on the
Executive Committee’s ‘Away
Day’ including discussions on
the UK REIT market and the
impacts of the rights issue,
the circular economy and
proposed development of
a Circularity Score, the Flex
market, the design, delivery
and scaling of GPE’s Flex
product and leading multi-
generational workforces.
– Discussed the asset
acquisition pipeline and
a refined list of target
opportunities, including
Whittington House, WC1.
– Approved the issuance
of GPE’s new £250 million
seven-year sustainable bond
to diversify debt funding
sources and help fund the
development pipeline.
– Approved a new £150 million
Revolving Credit Facility and
partial prepayment of the
existing term loan.
– Discussed key macro and
market themes and GPE’s
strategy and positioning.
– Received an update on the
leasing market and prime
rent forecasts.
– Discussed Digital, Technology
and Innovation strategic
priorities, including the
planned replacement of
GPE’s finance and property
management system.
– Received an update on
construction, procurement
and the wider development
programme, including the
impacts of the insolvency
of ISG, an appointed contractor
for the refurbishment of
200 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1.
– Deep-dive on GPE’s Flex
activities, including its market
differentiation and positioning,
performance, net operating
income forecasts, growing
operational efficiencies,
customer retention and
team resourcing.
– Approved ITN lease renewals
and a works agreement for
200 & 214 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1.
– Approved the acquisition
of 19/23 Wells Street, W1
together with a new headlease
with the building freeholder.
– Discussed the market
outlook and GPE’s near-
term portfolio targets in the
areas of income growth,
development, acquisitions
and sales.
– Approved the acquisition
of Whittington House, WC1.
– Discussed plans to replace
GPE’s finance and property
management system,
the potential impacts
of generative AI and the
proposed consolidation
of multiple IT service
providers.
– Noted the continued
consolidation and
roll-out of the simplified
sesame® app to improve
our customers’ digital
experience.
– Received updates on
potential asset sales and
acquisitions, the completion
of schemes at SIX and Alfred
Place and progress updates
regarding the Soho Square
Estate, W1 and St Thomas
Yard, SE1 schemes.
– Approved the appointments
of William Eccleshare as
Non-Executive Chair Designate
and Karen Green as Senior
Independent Director.
– Received an update from
GPE’s corporate brokers and
financial advisers on key
market and sector themes,
including analyst and investor
perceptions, and discussed the
evolution of GPE’s equity story
and investor relations strategy.
– Discussed the key considerations
to be addressed as part of the
April 2025 strategy review.
– Received an update on leasing
and void risks and a report on
the London Flex office market.
– Updated on plans to rotate
GPE’s valuer in line with new
requirements.
– Discussion of the
recommendations from the
internal Board evaluation.
– External presentations on
the economy and the global
real estate, London office
and Flex office markets.
– Received an Investor
Relations update.
– Approved the definitive
appraisal for the development
of The Courtyard, WC1.
– Approved a revised Health
and Safety Policy Statement
and received an update on
activities and processes.
– Received an update on
the progress of the finance
and property management
system replacement project.
– Approved the acquisition
of One Chapel Place, W1.
Understanding
the views of
stakeholders,
the interests of
employees and
the fostering
of business
relationships
– Approved GPE’s revised
Roadmap to Net Zero
and updates to GPE’s
Sustainability Policy.
– Updated on relationships
with joint venture partners
and feedback regarding
asset and joint venture
strategies, including the retail
leasing strategy at Mount
Royal, W1 and the proposed
refurbishment of 200 Gray’s
Inn Road, WC1.
– Discussed strengthening
customer relationships, a
planned customer meeting
programme for Executive
Directors and plans to respond
to recent feedback, including
to increase meeting rooms in
the portfolio and initiatives to
support office attendance.
– Received an update on the
employee engagement survey
results and action plans in
response to key areas of
feedback to improve systems
and processes, learning and
development opportunities
and the head office physical
working environment.
– Recommendation of the
payment of a final dividend
to shareholders.
– Discussed consolidating
GPE’s leadership position
in sustainability and the
circular economy.
– Discussed shareholder
feedback and the evolution
of the share register following
the rights issue.
– Updated on engagement
and relationships with London
freeholders and potential
business opportunities.
– Consideration of reports
from institutional investor
advisory bodies and the
voting recommendations
for the 2024 AGM.
– Received an update
on customer feedback
and challenges around
disruption at buildings
under refurbishment.
– Discussed feedback from
gender diversity and inclusion
engagement sessions
including in respect of career
progression and flexible
working arrangements.
– Approved GPE’s updated
Sustainable Finance
Framework.
– Approved GPE’s 2024
Modern Slavery and Human
Trafficking statement.
– Noted an update on the
launch of the new colleague
training and development
programme ‘GPE Thrive
Learning’ in response to
feedback.
– Considered feedback from
debt investors following
the issuance of the new
£250 million sustainable bond.
– Received an update on
the planning and design
work for The Courtyard,
WC1 development scheme,
including changes in response
to local authority and
stakeholder feedback.
– Discussed Flex broker
feedback and perceptions
on GPE’s Flex positioning
in the Flex market, including
opportunities to increase
the speed of transactions
and the levels of amenity
in buildings.
– Supported the creation
of a Circularity Score for
proposed developments.
– Considered customer
engagement efforts and
actions, feedback from
recent strategic customer
meetings and plans for
the next customer survey.
– Discussed GPE’s circular
economy strategy and the
release of a statement to
launch GPE’s Circularity
Score and targets for
reused materials in our
developments and major
refurbishments.
– Endorsed an updated People
Strategy founded on values,
culture and D&I and noted
planned initiatives, including
a head office refurbishment
in response to colleague
feedback.
– Considered the current
Board-workforce engagement
mechanisms and approved
changes to encourage more
interactive discussions.
– Approved the 2024/25
interim dividend.
– Noted plans for a
comprehensive
post-half-year results
investor roadshow.
– Updated on proposals
regarding the new Mayoral
Development Corporation
for Oxford Street and
engagement with key
stakeholders.
– Reviewed feedback from
the post-half-year results
investor roadshow, including
positive support for the
strategy, acquisition plan and
management team, alongside
discussion of development
risk, asset sale plans, rental
growth proof points and
GPE’s earnings profile.
– Discussed the proposed
investor relations strategy
for 2025 and key initiatives.
– Updated on results from the
recent customer satisfaction
and NPS survey, including
feedback on managing the
impacts of disruption from
development activities and
a desire for faster resolution
of more challenging
building issues.
– Received an update on
the challenging planning
environment and ongoing
engagement with local
planning authorities.
– Approved updated D&I
Plan, including additional
commitments and
reconstituted Employee
Impact Groups alongside
wider initiatives.
– Considered an in-depth
review of feedback from
the recent customer
satisfaction and NPS
survey and action plans
to support in-occupation
customers through
development works,
to better manage the
identification and resolution
of building management
issues and to improve
service charge processes.
– Discussed the feedback
from an investor and
analyst Flex presentation.
– Approved GPE’s updated
Social Impact Strategy,
double materiality
assessment and
internal Sustainability
Implementation Plan.
What we did in 2024/25
Leadership and purpose continued
2024
19/23 Wells Street
The Courtyard
110 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
May July September/October November/December January/February March/April
Strategy,
governance, risk
and opportunity
management
– Received updates from
management and GPE’s
corporate brokers on real
estate and equity market
conditions, including the
macro-economic and
geopolitical environment.
– Discussed the rich investment
opportunity pipeline and top
acquisition targets.
– Considered and subsequently
approved the £350 million
rights issue to capitalise on
new investment opportunities.
– Discussed asset strategies and
the timings of potential sales
in view of market conditions.
– Received an update on
activities being undertaken in
relation to the development
pipeline, including to progress
schemes at 2 Aldermanbury
Square, EC2, 30 Duke Street,
SW1, Minerva House, SE1 and
the Soho Square Estate, W1
and trends in development
costs.
– Received a health and
safety update and discussed
opportunities to strengthen
processes.
– Received an update from
GPE’s corporate brokers on
the positive market reaction
to the rights issue, sector
themes and their potential
strategic impacts.
– Received an update on the
Executive Committee’s ‘Away
Day’ including discussions on
the UK REIT market and the
impacts of the rights issue,
the circular economy and
proposed development of
a Circularity Score, the Flex
market, the design, delivery
and scaling of GPE’s Flex
product and leading multi-
generational workforces.
– Discussed the asset
acquisition pipeline and
a refined list of target
opportunities, including
Whittington House, WC1.
– Approved the issuance
of GPE’s new £250 million
seven-year sustainable bond
to diversify debt funding
sources and help fund the
development pipeline.
– Approved a new £150 million
Revolving Credit Facility and
partial prepayment of the
existing term loan.
– Discussed key macro and
market themes and GPE’s
strategy and positioning.
– Received an update on the
leasing market and prime
rent forecasts.
– Discussed Digital, Technology
and Innovation strategic
priorities, including the
planned replacement of
GPE’s finance and property
management system.
– Received an update on
construction, procurement
and the wider development
programme, including the
impacts of the insolvency
of ISG, an appointed contractor
for the refurbishment of
200 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1.
– Deep-dive on GPE’s Flex
activities, including its market
differentiation and positioning,
performance, net operating
income forecasts, growing
operational efficiencies,
customer retention and
team resourcing.
– Approved ITN lease renewals
and a works agreement for
200 & 214 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1.
– Approved the acquisition
of 19/23 Wells Street, W1
together with a new headlease
with the building freeholder.
– Discussed the market
outlook and GPE’s near-
term portfolio targets in the
areas of income growth,
development, acquisitions
and sales.
– Approved the acquisition
of Whittington House, WC1.
– Discussed plans to replace
GPE’s finance and property
management system,
the potential impacts
of generative AI and the
proposed consolidation
of multiple IT service
providers.
– Noted the continued
consolidation and
roll-out of the simplified
sesame® app to improve
our customers’ digital
experience.
– Received updates on
potential asset sales and
acquisitions, the completion
of schemes at SIX and Alfred
Place and progress updates
regarding the Soho Square
Estate, W1 and St Thomas
Yard, SE1 schemes.
– Approved the appointments
of William Eccleshare as
Non-Executive Chair Designate
and Karen Green as Senior
Independent Director.
– Received an update from
GPE’s corporate brokers and
financial advisers on key
market and sector themes,
including analyst and investor
perceptions, and discussed the
evolution of GPE’s equity story
and investor relations strategy.
– Discussed the key considerations
to be addressed as part of the
April 2025 strategy review.
– Received an update on leasing
and void risks and a report on
the London Flex office market.
– Updated on plans to rotate
GPE’s valuer in line with new
requirements.
– Discussion of the
recommendations from the
internal Board evaluation.
– External presentations on
the economy and the global
real estate, London office
and Flex office markets.
– Received an Investor
Relations update.
– Approved the definitive
appraisal for the development
of The Courtyard, WC1.
– Approved a revised Health
and Safety Policy Statement
and received an update on
activities and processes.
– Received an update on
the progress of the finance
and property management
system replacement project.
– Approved the acquisition
of One Chapel Place, W1.
Understanding
the views of
stakeholders,
the interests of
employees and
the fostering
of business
relationships
– Approved GPE’s revised
Roadmap to Net Zero
and updates to GPE’s
Sustainability Policy.
– Updated on relationships
with joint venture partners
and feedback regarding
asset and joint venture
strategies, including the retail
leasing strategy at Mount
Royal, W1 and the proposed
refurbishment of 200 Gray’s
Inn Road, WC1.
– Discussed strengthening
customer relationships, a
planned customer meeting
programme for Executive
Directors and plans to respond
to recent feedback, including
to increase meeting rooms in
the portfolio and initiatives to
support office attendance.
– Received an update on the
employee engagement survey
results and action plans in
response to key areas of
feedback to improve systems
and processes, learning and
development opportunities
and the head office physical
working environment.
– Recommendation of the
payment of a final dividend
to shareholders.
– Discussed consolidating
GPE’s leadership position
in sustainability and the
circular economy.
– Discussed shareholder
feedback and the evolution
of the share register following
the rights issue.
– Updated on engagement
and relationships with London
freeholders and potential
business opportunities.
– Consideration of reports
from institutional investor
advisory bodies and the
voting recommendations
for the 2024 AGM.
– Received an update
on customer feedback
and challenges around
disruption at buildings
under refurbishment.
– Discussed feedback from
gender diversity and inclusion
engagement sessions
including in respect of career
progression and flexible
working arrangements.
– Approved GPE’s updated
Sustainable Finance
Framework.
– Approved GPE’s 2024
Modern Slavery and Human
Trafficking statement.
– Noted an update on the
launch of the new colleague
training and development
programme ‘GPE Thrive
Learning’ in response to
feedback.
– Considered feedback from
debt investors following
the issuance of the new
£250 million sustainable bond.
– Received an update on
the planning and design
work for The Courtyard,
WC1 development scheme,
including changes in response
to local authority and
stakeholder feedback.
– Discussed Flex broker
feedback and perceptions
on GPE’s Flex positioning
in the Flex market, including
opportunities to increase
the speed of transactions
and the levels of amenity
in buildings.
– Supported the creation
of a Circularity Score for
proposed developments.
– Considered customer
engagement efforts and
actions, feedback from
recent strategic customer
meetings and plans for
the next customer survey.
– Discussed GPE’s circular
economy strategy and the
release of a statement to
launch GPE’s Circularity
Score and targets for
reused materials in our
developments and major
refurbishments.
– Endorsed an updated People
Strategy founded on values,
culture and D&I and noted
planned initiatives, including
a head office refurbishment
in response to colleague
feedback.
– Considered the current
Board-workforce engagement
mechanisms and approved
changes to encourage more
interactive discussions.
– Approved the 2024/25
interim dividend.
– Noted plans for a
comprehensive
post-half-year results
investor roadshow.
– Updated on proposals
regarding the new Mayoral
Development Corporation
for Oxford Street and
engagement with key
stakeholders.
– Reviewed feedback from
the post-half-year results
investor roadshow, including
positive support for the
strategy, acquisition plan and
management team, alongside
discussion of development
risk, asset sale plans, rental
growth proof points and
GPE’s earnings profile.
– Discussed the proposed
investor relations strategy
for 2025 and key initiatives.
– Updated on results from the
recent customer satisfaction
and NPS survey, including
feedback on managing the
impacts of disruption from
development activities and
a desire for faster resolution
of more challenging
building issues.
– Received an update on
the challenging planning
environment and ongoing
engagement with local
planning authorities.
– Approved updated D&I
Plan, including additional
commitments and
reconstituted Employee
Impact Groups alongside
wider initiatives.
– Considered an in-depth
review of feedback from
the recent customer
satisfaction and NPS
survey and action plans
to support in-occupation
customers through
development works,
to better manage the
identification and resolution
of building management
issues and to improve
service charge processes.
– Discussed the feedback
from an investor and
analyst Flex presentation.
– Approved GPE’s updated
Social Impact Strategy,
double materiality
assessment and
internal Sustainability
Implementation Plan.
The below provides examples of our significant discussions, transactions and appointments over and above the scheduled
matters outlined on page 104, together with examples of our oversight of engagement with stakeholders and consideration
of s.172(1) matters since April 2024. You can read our s.172(1) statement on page 77.
2025
One Chapel Place
Whittington House
Promoting
inclusive
communities
Delivering
healthier,
greener spaces
Nurturing
strong
partnerships
Social Impact Strategy v.2.0: core principles
111Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
In making any recommendations for Board appointments,
the Committee consults with the Chief Executive and
other Executive Directors as appropriate. During the year,
the Chief Executive was invited to attend Committee
meetings to provide the Committee with updates on
human resourcing, diversity and inclusion activities, talent
development and succession planning. The Chief Executive
and the Chief Financial & Operating Officer also provided
their input into Board recruitment processes.
In making recommendations to the Board on Non-Executive
Director appointments, the Committee specifically considers
the expected time commitment of the proposed Non-
Executive Director and their other external commitments.
Agreement of the Board is also required before a Director
may accept any additional commitments to ensure possible
conflicts of interest are identified and that the Directors
will continue to have sufficient time available to devote
to the Company. During the year, the Board carefully
considered the proposed appointments of Vicky Jarman as
a Non-Executive Director of each of Aston Martin Lagonda
Global Holdings plc and AerCap Holdings N.V. and of Karen
Green as a Non-Executive Director of Hamilton Insurance
Group, noting their other current commitments and, in
Karen’s case, also noting that she had stepped down as a
Non-Executive Director of Asta Managing Agency Limited.
The Board was satisfied that these changes would not
impact Vicky’s or Karen’s independence or commitment
and that in each case they would continue to be able to
add significant value to their respective roles at GPE.
Non-Executive Directors are not appointed for specific
terms but, in accordance with the Code, are subject to
annual re-election. All proposed re-elections to the Board
are formally considered by the Nomination Committee,
taking account of each individual’s effectiveness and
commitment to the role.
The Committee also reviews the recommendations of
the Board evaluation process and progress against the
recommendations from the previous year.
Our approach
The key objectives of the Committee are to regularly
review the skills and experience of the Board to ensure
that it is the right size, structure and composition taking
into account the skills, experience, independence,
knowledge and diversity of Directors and the future
strategy of the Group.
It is the Committee’s role to consider succession
planning for the Board and senior executives below
Board level, to oversee the development of a diverse
pipeline for succession and to lead on the process for
Board appointments.
As part of its objectives, the Committee reviews and
recommends to the Board: (i) the compositions of the
Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees, taking
into consideration an individual’s experience, ongoing
training and development needs, their time commitments
and the benefits of diversity; and (ii) the (re-)election
of Directors by shareholders at the AGM.
Committee composition and process
The Committee membership generally includes all of
the Non-Executive Directors. Throughout the 2024/25
financial year, the Nomination Committee comprised
the Chair of the Board, Richard Mully, and six independent
Non-Executive Directors, namely Mark Anderson,
Nick Hampton, Karen Green, Vicky Jarman, Champa
Magesh and Emma Woods. Nick Hampton stepped down
from the Board, and the Committee, on 3 April 2025.
William Eccleshare was appointed to the Committee
with effect from his appointment to the Board on
1 May 2025 and, subject to his election by shareholders
at the 2025 AGM, will become Chair of the Committee
when he becomes Chair of the Board, from the
conclusion of that meeting.
Nomination
Committee
1. Nick Hampton also served as a member of the Nomination
Committee throughout the year, stepping down from the
Board and the Committee on 3 April 2025.
Committee members
1
Director Role
Richard Mully Chair
William Eccleshare Non-Executive Director
and Chair Designate
Mark Anderson Non-Executive Director
Karen Green Senior Independent Director
Vicky Jarman Non-Executive Director
Champa Magesh Non-Executive Director
Emma Woods Non-Executive Director
2024/25 scheduled Committee meetings: Five
Committee attendance: see page 99
Committee Terms of Reference:
www.gpe.co.uk/investors/governance
Composition, succession and evaluation
112 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Dear fellow shareholder
On behalf of the Committee, welcome to the report of
the Nomination Committee (the Committee) for the year
ended 31 March 2025. The Committee has focused on Board
succession planning, alongside the progression of our diversity
and inclusion agenda. With the appointments of GPE’s new
Chair and Senior Independent Director, I have no doubt that
the leadership of the Board will be in excellent hands when
I step down as Chair following the AGM in July.
Board and Committee composition
The Committee regularly reviews the composition of the
Board and its Committees to ensure they have the requisite
skills, experience, diversity and knowledge in alignment with
the Group’s strategy. The Committee also gives ongoing
consideration to the length of service of, in particular, Non-
Executive Directors, to ensure Board membership is regularly
refreshed and that appropriate succession plans are in place.
As I explained in last year’s report, my nine-year tenure and
that of Nick Hampton, who was Senior Independent Director
until he stepped down on 3 April 2025, were due to end in 2025.
Processes were therefore progressed during the year to
identify successors for both the Chair and Senior Independent
Director roles with a focus on ensuring a smooth and
effective transition.
Chair succession
Nick Hampton, as Senior Independent Director, led the process
to find GPE’s next Chair. In line with best practice, I was not
involved in the selection exercise and did not attend Committee
meetings when it was discussed. In June 2024, the Committee
established a sub-committee (the Succession Committee) to
manage the process. The Succession Committee was chaired by
Nick Hampton and, along with Nick, comprised Vicky Jarman,
Mark Anderson and the Chief Executive, supported by the
Group General Counsel & Company Secretary and HR Director.
Following a pitch process involving several search firms, the
Succession Committee appointed Russell Reynolds to support the
search. Russell Reynolds has no connection with the Company or
any individual Directors other than to assist with Executive and
Non-Executive succession planning and appointment processes.
As part of the search, the Committee reviewed a diverse longlist
from which refined shortlists of candidates were selected for
interview. Following a detailed selection process as summarised
below, the Committee unanimously recommended to the
Board, and the Board approved, the appointment of William
Eccleshare as Chair Designate. William joined the Board and
the Committee on 1 May 2025 allowing time for a detailed
induction and briefing in preparation for him becoming Chair
of the Board and the Committee when I step down at the
conclusion of the 2025 AGM.
The Board and Committee are delighted that William has been
selected as GPE’s next Chair. William brings significant executive
and non-executive experience and his breadth of knowledge
and skills, including his strong background in marketing, business
transformation, growth and innovation, will be invaluable to
GPE’s Board moving forward. I know he will provide effective
leadership of the Board and be a great support to Toby
Courtauld and the management team, who welcome his
appointment. I will be continuing to work closely with William
over the coming weeks to ensure a smooth handover.
Chair succession process
June 2024 Succession Committee appointed
by Committee, led by Nick Hampton
as Senior Independent Director.
July – August 2024 Search firm pitch process
undertaken – Russell Reynolds
appointed.
Russell Reynolds met with key
stakeholders within the business
to develop a detailed role profile
and brief for discussion with the
Succession Committee.
September 2024 Succession Committee agreed
detailed role specification.
Nomination Committee discussed
the candidate pool and reviewed
the longlist of potential candidates
provided by Russell Reynolds.
Shortlist of candidates identified
for initial interview.
October –
November 2024
Shortlist of candidates interviewed
by Succession Committee.
December 2024 Interviews of final two preferred
candidates by wider Board members
and further interviews with the
Chief Executive.
January –
February 2025
Committee and Board meetings
held to discuss candidates
and references. Company and
candidate due diligence completed.
Approved appointment of William
Eccleshare as Chair Designate,
to become Chair (subject to his
election to the Board by GPE’s
shareholders) when Richard Mully
retires at the conclusion of the
2025 AGM.
The Committee has focused on Board
succession planning, alongside the
progression of our diversity and inclusion
agenda. With the appointments of
GPE’s new Chair and Senior Independent
Director, I have no doubt that the
leadership of the Board will be in excellent
hands as I step down as Chair following
the AGM in July.”
Richard Mully Chair of the Nomination Committee
113Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Senior Independent Director succession
The Committee also spent time working on the Senior
Independent Director succession process. Following a selection
exercise supported by Russell Reynolds, which included
consideration of external candidates, it was agreed that Karen
Green’s considerable City, financial markets and non-executive
experience, including her experience and knowledge of GPE as a
trusted and valued Board member since December 2023, would
make her an excellent Senior Independent Director for the next
stage of the Board’s development. On the recommendation
of the Committee, the Board was pleased to appoint Karen as
GPE’s Senior Independent Director from 4 April 2025, with Nick
Hampton stepping down from the Board on 3 April 2025.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Nick for his service
as GPE’s Senior Independent Director since 2023, including his
leadership of the Chair succession process in recent months,
and for his significant contribution to GPE since he joined
the Board in 2016.
Succession planning and talent development
During the year, in addition to the Board succession
planning processes described above, we have considered
the development plans and succession planning for Executive
Directors, the Executive Committee and senior leaders. As part
of this process, the Committee considers the depth and quality
of the succession pipeline, the skills and capabilities required
for the future strategic needs of the business, retention and
succession planning risks, personal development needs and
the strengthening of diversity and inclusion.
Recognising and developing our top talent is key to ensuring
that we have a healthy and diverse pipeline of current and
potential future leaders, and this remains a key area of focus
for the Board and the Committee. We have progressed our
Non-Executive Director mentoring programme and continue
to oversee our wider talent development programme.
Further details can be found on pages 67 to 72.
Our approach to diversity and inclusion
We recognise the strategic importance of a diverse Board
and workforce which is representative of our stakeholders
and which provides different perspectives to support the
development and delivery of our strategy.
The Board’s Diversity & Inclusion Policy (Board D&I Policy)
specifically applies to the Board and its Committees and supports
GPE’s wider approach to diversity. A copy of this can be found
on our website at www.gpe.co.uk/investors/governance
We believe that the Board and its Committees should comprise
Directors with a diverse mix of attributes including but not
limited to skills, knowledge, experience, gender, ethnicity,
age and educational, professional and socio-economic
background. Different perspectives and points of view improve
decision making, and we believe that ultimately this will benefit
GPE’s stakeholders through better business performance.
The Board also believes that the tone for diversity and inclusion
at GPE must be set from the top; having a diverse leadership
team and an open and inclusive culture is aligned to our
core values and expected behaviours.
The benefits of diversity continue to be an important
consideration in our Board succession planning and we expect
our search consultants to ensure that the candidate pool for
appointments to the Board is sufficiently wide and includes
candidates from a variety of backgrounds with a wide range
of experience and strengths to reflect the Board’s diversity
aims. This approach to recruitment is mirrored across
the business.
As explained in the statement above, we are pleased that
we now meet all three UK Listing Rule board diversity targets
in line with our Board D&I Policy.
From a gender perspective, we support the aims of the
FTSE Women Leaders Review and, as at 31 March 2025,
women represented 40% of the Board (31 March 2024: 40%),
25% of the Executive Committee (31 March 2024: 25%) and
38% of the population comprising the Executive Committee
and their direct reports (31 March 2024: 37%).
We continue to meet the Parker Review target to have
at least one Director from a minority ethnic background.
Last year, in line with the Parker Review recommendations
for FTSE 350 companies, the Committee set a further target
for at least 15% of the population comprising the Executive
Committee and their direct reports to be represented by
individuals who identify with an ethnic minority category
(as identified by the Office for National Statistics) by
the end of 2027. As at 31 March 2025, we stood at 6.8%
(31 March 2024: 4.2%).
To maintain focus, senior executives were again given
specific annual bonus scorecard measures for 2024/25 linked
to progress against our aspirational diversity and inclusion
representation targets and ambitions (see pages 72 and 133
for details). We are pleased that these targets are helping
to increase representation levels across the business, and
representation targets have again been included in the
current year’s bonus scorecard to build on this momentum.
Statement in accordance with UK Listing
Rule 6.6.6(9) on Board Diversity
As at the date of this report, GPE meets all three Board
diversity targets specified in UK Listing Rule 6.6.6(9). As
at 31 March 2025, GPE did not yet meet the target under
UK Listing Rule 6.6.6(9) for at least one of the Chair of the
Board, Chief Executive, Senior Independent Director or
Chief Financial Officer positions to be held by a woman.
However, GPE has met this target since 4 April 2025
when Karen Green was appointed as Senior Independent
Director. Karen’s appointment was timed to coincide
with Nick Hampton stepping down from the Board
and as Senior Independent Director on 3 April 2025,
following the Board’s 2025 strategy review.
Details regarding GPE’s gender and ethnic diversity data,
including that required by UK Listing Rule 6.6.6(10),
and our approach to collecting data, can be found
on page 72.
Composition, succession and evaluation continued
114 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
We recognise there is much work still to do and the Committee
continues to oversee the development, implementation and
progress of our diversity and inclusion initiatives. The work of
our Inclusion Committee and four Employee Impact Groups
has continued to provide a network and a voice for colleagues
from under-represented groups. This year has also seen
the expansion of the remits of these groups to capture wider
forms of diversity. Our programme of ‘Listening Sessions’
hosted by Executive Committee members with colleagues
from across the business, along with two diversity-focused
engagement sessions for GPE women, led by our female
Non-Executive Directors, have also provided much useful
insight and feedback.
In January 2025, the Board was pleased to adopt a refreshed
Diversity & Inclusion Plan, which forms an integral part
of our updated three-year People Strategy, to ensure we
continue to evolve our approach and drive progress on
diversity and inclusion.
We believe that the actions we are taking are helping to
educate colleagues and to foster a diverse and inclusive
culture. We were pleased to see improvements in many
of our employee engagement survey scores this year
and we were delighted to receive a Clear Assured Silver
level diversity and inclusion accreditation, reflecting
the positive changes being made in many areas.
Further details regarding our diversity and inclusion
initiatives and progress can be found on pages 67 to 72.
Committee and Director effectiveness review
This year, the Committee oversaw an internal Board and
Committee effectiveness review. The review concluded that
the Board and its Committees, including the Nomination
Committee, continue to operate efficiently and effectively.
Details of the review and its findings can be found on
pages 116 and 117.
All proposed elections and re-elections to the Board are
formally considered by the Committee, taking account
of each individual’s skills and continued effectiveness
and commitment to the role. Following this review, I can
confirm that each of the Non-Executive Directors is
considered effective in their roles and both independent
of the executive management and free from any business
or other relationship which could materially interfere with
their exercising of independent judgement. Nick Hampton
as Senior Independent Director also met with the Directors
to appraise my own performance.
As I look back on my tenure as Chair of GPE’s Board and
Nomination Committee, I am extremely proud of our
achievements in evolving the organisation, GPE’s culture
and its people agenda, which I know the Board and the
Committee will continue to build on.
Richard Mully
Chair of the Nomination Committee
20 May 2025
Board induction and development
Our induction process for new Board members is designed
to develop the Director’s knowledge and understanding
of the Group, covering key areas including GPE’s purpose,
values, culture and strategy, its corporate governance,
risks and internal controls and the industry and markets in
which it operates. Our induction process for new Directors
is delivered through:
– meetings with the Chair, wider Board, General Counsel
& Company Secretary and relevant Committee Chairs;
– a structured programme of meetings with executives
and senior managers to provide a deeper understanding
of risks and opportunities and stakeholder interests;
– meetings with advisers, including the internal and
external auditors and brokers, to provide a valuable
external perspective;
– property tours to see assets first-hand and to learn
more about GPE’s asset and development plans;
– access to a library of reference materials covering
key areas including strategy, finance and operations,
sustainability, governance, risk management and
internal controls; and
– training as appropriate on key policies, statutory duties
and legal and governance requirements.
The induction process is tailored for each Director’s role
and individual needs. William Eccleshare joined the Board
on 1 May 2025 as Chair Designate and has commenced
a comprehensive induction programme. The programme
will run for several months to give William a deep insight
into GPE and includes a period of handover in readiness
for William to succeed Richard Mully as Chair following
the conclusion of the 2025 AGM.
To enable the Board to discharge its duties, all Directors
receive appropriate and timely information, including
briefing papers distributed in advance of Board meetings
and regular property tours conducted by the relevant
GPE teams.
The Board strongly supports the ongoing development of
its Directors. The Directors may, at the Company’s expense,
take independent professional advice and are encouraged
to continually update their professional skills and knowledge
of the business and wider industry. Senior managers and
external advisers also presented to the Board during
the year on a range of subjects, including:
– macro-economic and geopolitical risks;
– the global and UK real estate investment market;
– the flexible space market and GPE’s flexible space offer;
– climate change and sustainability;
– planning regulation;
– technology, innovation and cyber risk; and
– accounting, legal and governance developments.
Directors also individually attend seminars or conferences
associated with their expertise or areas of responsibility and
are provided each quarter with a list of relevant upcoming
seminars by various firms. Director training is reviewed
by the Nomination Committee and development areas are
discussed with individual Directors as part of the annual
performance evaluation process.
115Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Our 2024/25 Board and Committee evaluation process
In accordance with the recommendations of the Code, we undertake a review of the effectiveness of the Board’s performance
and that of its Committees and Directors every year, with an external evaluation held at least every three years. We are planning
for our next external review to be in 2025/26.
Our progress against the actions identified through the 2023/24 internal review is set out below:
An internal Board and Committee effectiveness review was
undertaken in 2024/25 which was led by Nick Hampton, as
Senior Independent Director, with the support of the General
Counsel & Company Secretary. The process, which was agreed
by the Nomination Committee, involved completion of an
online questionnaire followed by individual meetings with
Directors, a detailed report of findings and discussion at
the January 2025 Board meeting.
The aim of the review was to assess the effectiveness of
the Board, its Committees and individual Directors in order
to identify any actions to improve how Directors fulfil their
duties and to maximise Board effectiveness. The review
covered the following key themes:
– the Board’s role, composition and operation;
– the Board’s protocols and behaviours and how effectively
Directors work together to achieve the Board’s objectives;
Progress against 2023/24 Board evaluation actions
Actions Progress
To monitor the implementation
of organisational design and
people changes to ensure that
GPE has the right structure
and capabilities to deliver its
ambitious strategic plan
– Nomination Committee endorsed organisational design and senior operational role
changes to enhance the delivery of GPE’s Customer First approach, the growth and
implementation of its Flex workspace offer and to strengthen GPE’s technology,
digital and innovation activities.
– Further strengthening of teams during the year, including the Customer Experience,
Flex and Digital & Technology teams.
– Regular updates to the Board and Nomination Committee on team structures and
capabilities, including as part of the Nomination Committee’s succession planning
and talent review process.
Continuing to oversee the
evolution of the Flex strategy
and product offer to drive
differentiated returns and
shareholder value
– Regular updates to the Board on Flex strategy, performance, operations
and product development.
– Internal and external presentations and reports on the Flexible space market
and GPE’s positioning.
– Further development of the Flex management pack and KPIs to monitor performance
and operations, with Flex regularly considered in the context of GPE’s strategy,
acquisition pipeline, asset strategies and customer feedback discussions.
– Investor & Analyst Flex webinar held in March 2025 to support their understanding
of the strong operational momentum and Flex investment case.
To maintain close oversight
of macro conditions and the
next property cycle and the
implications for GPE’s strategy
and capital allocation decisions
– Frequent reporting on the market and macro conditions by management and the
Company’s brokers and financial advisers.
– Execution of the rights issue and public bond issuance to provide further capacity
for investment and development opportunities to deliver returns for shareholders.
– Allocation of the rights issue proceeds, including through acquisitions of The
Courtyard, 19/23 Wells Street, Whittington House and One Chapel Place.
To allocate additional Board
time to considering technology
risks and opportunities, including
implementation of the new
Digital, Technology & Innovation
Strategy (Ongoing focus area)
– Reporting to the Board on progress against the Digital, Technology & Innovation
Strategy and technology risks and opportunities, including AI.
– Updates to the Board on GPE’s policy and approach regarding the use of generative AI.
– Regular presentations to the Audit Committee and Board on planning, design
and implementation of a project to replace GPE’s existing finance and property
management system.
Ongoing focus on Board
composition and succession
planning in view of Chair and
SID tenures and on diversity
representation levels of the
Board and wider business
– New Chair Designate and Senior Independent Director appointed.
– All three UK Listing Rule board diversity targets met.
– Implementation of diversity and inclusion initiatives – see pages 67 to 72, 114 and 115.
– Diversity and inclusion targets tracked with linked annual bonus measures for senior
executives. Updated Diversity & Inclusion Plan approved by the Board with additional
targets and commitments.
Composition, succession and evaluation continued
116 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
2024
2025
– the performance of the Board and its Committees;
– progress against the key actions arising from the 2023/24
internal evaluation; and
– focused questions on succession planning, culture, diversity
and inclusion.
The process also considered the effectiveness of individual
Directors and one-to-one performance feedback was given
by Nick Hampton, as the Senior Independent Director, to the
Chair, and by the Chair to the other Directors, at the end of the
process. The review concluded that the Board, its Committees
and individual Directors continue to operate effectively.
Some of the key strengths identified included:
– a collaborative and positive Board culture;
– committed and highly engaged Directors who bring
a diverse range of skills and perspectives;
– open discussions with appropriate levels of challenge,
support and debate;
– Board and Committee meetings are well-managed and
appropriately focused, supported by high quality papers
and effective leadership from their respective Chairs; and
– strong progress having been made to drive forward the
strategy and to action key priorities arising from the prior
year’s evaluation.
The review identified some recommendations and opportunities
and the key actions arising from the review are as follows:
What we did in 2024/25
– Discussed and agreed
the search process for
a new Chair, including
the approval of the
appointment of a
Succession Committee
and the process for
selecting a search firm.
– Updated on progress
of the search process
for the new Chair.
– Discussed the Senior
Independent Director
succession process.
– Noted the Board’s
appointment of William
Eccleshare as a Non-Executive
Director and Chair Designate
from May 2025, to succeed
Richard Mully as Chair from the
conclusion of the 2025 AGM.
– Discussed induction
arrangements for
William Eccleshare.
– Noted the Board’s
appointment of Karen Green
as Senior Independent
Director from 4 April 2025,
succeeding Nick Hampton.
– Discussed the Committee’s
effectiveness and the
2024/25 Board and
Committee evaluation.
– Reviewed Board and
Committee composition
and recommended to the
Board the election/re-election
of Directors at the 2025 AGM.
– Updated on Board training.
– Updated on governance
and regulatory requirements
including compliance with
the Code.
– Recommended updates
to the Committee’s Terms
of Reference.
– Discussed Board succession
planning with a focus on
Chair and Senior Independent
Director roles.
– Discussed Executive
Directors’ performance.
– Updated on the Chair
search process including
consideration of the
longlist of candidates and
agreement of a shortlist.
– Updated on the
capabilities within the
Digital & Technology
team and discussed the
resources and governance
oversight needed for the
implementation of the
new finance and property
management system.
– Agreed approach to
2024/25 Board and
Committee evaluation.
– Discussed the findings
from a senior management
talent development,
retention and succession
planning review and
Executive Committee
succession planning.
– Recommended the
appointment of William
Eccleshare as GPE’s next
Chair to the Board.
– Recommended the
appointment of Karen
Green as GPE’s next
Senior Independent
Director to the Board.
– Discussed Executive Director
succession planning.
– Updated on the Chair
search process, including
discussion of the feedback
from candidate meetings
and next stage interviews.
May
June/July
November
September
January February
Key recommendations from
2024/25 Board and Committee evaluation
1
Ongoing focus on GPE’s Flex competition
and product differentiation along with
the further development of KPIs to
track operational performance as Flex
grows in scale.
2
Enhance stakeholder reporting through
increasing the volume of the customer voice
in the boardroom and additional updates
from GPE’s corporate brokers on investor
perspectives.
3
Ongoing review of technology risks and
opportunities, including those arising from AI,
and close oversight of the implementation
of the planned new finance and property
management system.
4
Continued focus on diversity and inclusion,
talent progression opportunities and
increasing diversity representation levels
across the business.
5
Allocate more time for Non-Executive
Directors to meet without management
present.
6
Keep under review the potential need for
an additional Non-Executive Director to
supplement the Board’s skills and experience
following Board changes.
117Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Audit, risks and internal controls
Audit
Committee
Our approach
The key objectives for the Audit Committee (the
Committee) are to review and report to the Board and
shareholders on the Group’s financial reporting, internal
control and risk management systems, the independence
and effectiveness of the external auditor, and to review
the internal audit plan and the effectiveness of the
internal auditor.
Committee composition and process
The Committee currently comprises five independent
Non-Executive Directors. Nick Hampton served as a
member of the Committee during the year and stepped
down from the Board and the Committee on 3 April 2025.
The Board is satisfied that Vicky Jarman and Karen Green
have recent and relevant financial experience and are
considered suitably competent in accounting and/or
auditing. The Committee, as a whole, has competence
relevant to the real estate sector and collectively possesses
an appropriate and varied blend of commercial and
financial expertise to assess the issues the Committee
is required to address. Further details of the skills and
experience of each Committee member can be found
in their biographies on pages 100 and 101.
The Chair of the Board, the Chief Executive, the Chief
Financial & Operating Officer, the Executive Director,
Director of Investor Relations and Joint Director of Finance,
General Counsel & Company Secretary, other members of
senior management and representatives from the Group’s
external auditor, PwC, and the internal auditor, Grant
Thornton, also attend Committee meetings as appropriate.
The Committee holds private sessions with the internal
auditor and external auditor without management
as required.
The Committee maintains a comprehensive agenda
focused on the Company’s audit, internal control
and risk management processes. It works closely with
management, PwC, Grant Thornton and the Group’s
Finance function to ensure it understands the evolving
landscape across the organisation and the markets in
which it operates. This includes discussions with CBRE
on the valuation process and conditions in London’s real
estate markets and with PwC on accounting and audit
matters. The Committee also reviews the adequacy and
effectiveness of the Group’s internal financial controls
and internal control and risk management systems
and is responsible for the selection, and the review of
effectiveness, of the internal and external auditors.
Annual Report – Fair, balanced
and understandable
The Committee conducted a review and concluded
that the 2025 Annual Report and Financial
Statements, taken as a whole is fair, balanced and
understandable while providing the necessary
information to assess the Company’s position
and performance, business model and strategy,
and recommended its approval to the Board.
As part of the report production process, the main
themes and tone for the report were discussed at an
early stage with the Committee and key stakeholders,
including the Chair of the Board and Committee
Chairs. Early drafts of report sections were considered
with key stakeholders and an advanced draft of
the whole Annual Report was reviewed by senior
management, with independent functions having
reviewed and verified sections, ahead of circulation
to the Committee for feedback. The Chief Financial
& Operating Officer, in his year-end report, provided
a checklist of particular areas the Committee and
Board might consider (including successes and
challenges over the year and looking ahead) when
reviewing the fairness, consistency and balance
of the report as a whole, including whether there
are any significant omissions of information.
The external auditor also reported its views to the
Committee. Reviews were also undertaken by the
Company’s advisers, including for compliance
with regulatory requirements.
Committee members
1
Director Role
Vicky Jarman Committee Chair
Mark Anderson Non-Executive Director
Karen Green Senior Independent Director
Champa Magesh Non-Executive Director
Emma Woods Non-Executive Director
2024/25 scheduled Committee meetings: Four
Meeting attendance: see page 99
Committee Terms of Reference:
www.gpe.co.uk/investors/governance
1. Nick Hampton also served as a member of the Audit Committee
throughout the year, stepping down from the Board and the
Committee on 3 April 2025.
118 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
During the year, we discussed updates on key changes to
legislation and regulation impacting the Committee’s remit
and the progress of any resulting actions. This has included
updates on changes to the UK Listing Rules, 2024 Code,
evolving sustainability reporting requirements and the new
corporate fraud offence under the Economic Crime and
Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA). The Committee is
currently overseeing a project to further enhance our internal
controls framework and processes in readiness for the 2024
Code provisions on internal controls effectiveness, which will
apply to the Company from the year commencing 1 April 2026.
Throughout the year, I held meetings with the PwC lead
external audit partner, the internal auditor, the external valuer,
the Chief Financial & Operating Officer and the Director
of Investor Relations and Joint Director of Finance, as well
as with other members of management, to discuss key items
and to ensure that appropriate communication channels
were in place to facilitate an open dialogue.
Minimum Standard
The Committee considers that it has voluntarily met the
requirements of the FRC’s Audit Committees and the External
Audit: Minimum Standard (Minimum Standard) in 2024/25.
These requirements will be reported on more fully in next
year’s Annual Report, in line with the 2024 Code.
Committee effectiveness
During the year, the Committee’s effectiveness was reviewed
as part of the internal Board evaluation process (see pages 116
and 117). I am pleased to confirm that the Committee continues
to operate effectively, with high quality discussions, strong
engagement and appropriate levels of challenge. Over the
coming year, the Committee will continue to maintain oversight
of the implementation of the Group’s new finance and property
management system, being a key project for the Group.
Vicky Jarman
Chair of the Audit Committee
20 May 2025
Dear fellow shareholder
On behalf of the Audit Committee, I am pleased to present
the report of the Audit Committee for the year ended
31 March 2025.
The Committee’s report is intended to provide insight
into its activities during the year and sets out how it has
performed against its key objectives.
Key activities
The Committee held four scheduled meetings during the year.
In line with its responsibilities, key focus areas have been:
– Financial reporting: reviewing and monitoring the
integrity of the Group’s financial reporting processes
and considering and agreeing key accounting matters,
including the accounting treatment of the Company’s
rights issue and sustainable bond issuance in the year, and
making recommendations to the Board as appropriate;
– Portfolio valuation: considering the twice annual
portfolio valuation process and reports from the external
valuer, CBRE, and the process to appoint a new
valuer in accordance with the new mandatory valuer
rotation requirements;
– External auditor: reviewing reports from PwC as the
external auditor, monitoring and assessing its independence
and effectiveness, approving its remuneration and terms
of engagement and considering its provision of non-audit
services and associated fees;
– Sustainability assurance: reviewing the Company’s
sustainability data assurance activities, which are carried
out by PwC’s sustainability assurance team in relation
to selected sustainability disclosures presented in the
Annual Report;
– Internal controls framework and risk management:
reviewing and monitoring the Group’s internal controls
framework and risk management processes, including the
Group’s principal and emerging risks and the effectiveness
of controls; and agreeing the internal audit plan with the
internal auditor and reviewing reports on its work; and
– Finance operations: considering a reorganisation of
the Finance Operations team and approving proposals
to implement a new finance and property management
system, receiving regular updates on the implementation,
governance and assurance plans.
This year, the Committee has continued
to focus its oversight on the Group’s risk,
control and assurance framework.”
Vicky Jarman Chair of the Audit Committee
119Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Audit, risks and internal controls continued
Significant financial judgements
Any significant accounting judgements or issues are monitored and discussed by the Committee throughout the year.
The following was considered for the year ended 31 March 2025:
Significant matter Action taken
Valuation of the Group’s
property portfolio
The valuation of the Group’s property
portfolio is a key determinant of the
Group’s net tangible asset value as
well as indirectly impacting executive
and employee remuneration. The
valuation is conducted externally
by an independent valuer; however,
the nature of the valuation process
is inherently subjective due to
the assumptions made on market
comparable yields, estimated rental
values, void periods and the costs
to complete development projects.
The Committee, together with the Chair of the Board, meets with the external valuer
(CBRE), the Executive Directors and senior management involved in the valuation
process along with the external auditor, PwC, in November and May to discuss the
valuation included within the half-year and year-end financial statements. This review
includes the valuation process undertaken and the methodology used, changes
in market conditions, including recent transactions in the market and how these
have impacted our portfolio, the valuation of individual buildings and the valuer’s
expectations in relation to future rental growth and yield movement. The Committee
asks the valuer to highlight significant judgements or disagreements with management
during the valuation process and, where appropriate, challenges the key assumptions
and judgements applied.
PwC, using its real estate experts, separately meets the valuer and provides the
Committee with a summary of its work as part of its reports on the half-year review
and year-end audit.
The Committee also considers the timely provision of information to the valuer
and the effectiveness of communication between teams.
As a result of these reviews, the Committee concluded that the valuation had been
carried out appropriately and independently and was suitable for inclusion in the
Group’s accounts.
Financial and narrative reporting
The Committee reviews the Group’s financial reporting,
including its accounting policies and judgements, which it
considers with management and PwC, and recommends the
approval of the Group’s half-year and year-end results and
Annual Report to the Board. Since last year’s Annual Report,
the Committee considered a number of items impacting the
Group’s financial statements, including:
– the accounting treatment and associated disclosures
for the Company’s £350 million fully underwritten rights
issue which was completed on 12 June 2024. This included
accounting for the rights issue proceeds and adjustments
to historical performance metrics including earnings per
share under IAS 33 and net assets per share, as explained
in note 9 to the financial statements;
– the accounting implications and associated disclosures
for the Company’s £250 million sustainable bond issued
in September 2024;
Valuation of the Group’s property portfolio
As explained above, as a listed property REIT, the most
significant financial judgement in the preparation of the
Group’s financial statements is the valuation of the Group’s
property portfolio. A key responsibility of the Committee is
to satisfy itself that the twice-yearly process in relation to the
Group’s property portfolio has been carried out appropriately
by the external valuer, CBRE. Following a comprehensive
process, the Committee was satisfied that the valuation
process is sufficiently robust.
– the accounting treatment of the acquisitions of the
corporate vehicles holding Whittington House, WC1
and One Chapel Place, W1 in accordance with ‘IFRS 3 –
Business Combinations’ and the acquisition of 19/23
Wells Street, W1;
– the new EPRA Best Practices Recommendations and
their impact on disclosures in the financial statements;
– amendments to IAS 1 – ‘Presentation of Financial
Statements’ requiring additional disclosures regarding
loan covenants; and
– the rate of capitalisation of interest for upcoming
redevelopments under IAS 23 – ‘Borrowing Costs’
following the repayment of £175 million of the Group’s
£250 million term loan.
An explanation of the application of the relevant accounting
policies can be found in the notes to the financial statements
on pages 156 to 182.
Recent changes to rules of the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors restrict valuation firms to valuing an asset for
a maximum period of ten years. In line with the two-year
transition period, CBRE, which has been the Company’s valuer
for more than ten years, can continue in role until March 2026.
Accordingly, during the year, the Committee agreed the
process and timelines for a tender process for a new external
valuer. We expect to appoint a new valuer by the end of 2025,
with a view to the incoming valuer shadowing CBRE during
the 31 March 2026 valuation process.
120 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Sustainability disclosures
The Committee considered the impact of climate change
on the Group’s financial reporting and financial statements.
It also reviewed the Company’s Task Force on Climate-related
Financial Disclosures (TCFD) in this report (see pages 55 to
65) and the related limited reporting assurance activities
undertaken by PwC’s sustainability assurance team.
Viability and going concern statements
The Committee reviewed the Group’s going concern and
viability statements (as set out on page 148 and page 79
respectively) and their underlying assumptions, inviting
challenge on the assumptions and scenario testing by the
external auditor. As part of this process, the Committee
considered management’s work in assessing the principal
risks to the viability of the Group over the period concerned,
including the impacts arising from macro-economic, London
attractiveness, development and climate change and
decarbonisation risks. Following this review, the Committee
was satisfied that management had conducted robust
viability and going concern assessments and recommended
the approval of the viability and going concern statements
to the Board. The Committee considered it appropriate
to prepare the Group’s financial statements on a going
concern basis.
External audit
The Committee advises the Board on the appointment of
the external auditor, negotiates and agrees its remuneration
for audit and non-audit work, reviews its effectiveness,
independence and objectivity and discusses the nature,
scope and results of the audit with the external auditor.
– External auditor: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
(PwC).
– Appointed: July 2023, following a competitive
tender process in 2022/23.
– Lead Audit Partner: Saira Choudhry, with
2024/25 being the second year of her term.
– Reappointment: Following consideration
of PwC’s independence and objectivity,
the quality of the audit and PwC’s performance,
the Committee recommends PwC be reappointed
as the Company’s external auditor for the
2025/26 financial year.
– 2025 AGM resolutions: Auditor reappointment
and authority to the Committee to determine
its remuneration.
The Company has complied during the year ended
31 March 2025, and up to the date of this report, with the
provisions of the Statutory Audit Services for Large Companies
Market Investigation (Mandatory Use of Competitive Tender
Processes and Audit Committee Responsibilities) Order 2014.
The Company intends to conduct a competitive tender
for the external audit at least every ten years and any
recommendation to reappoint the external auditor each
year will be based on continued satisfactory performance.
Effectiveness
The Committee has closely monitored the performance
of PwC and the effectiveness of the external audit process
throughout the year to ensure that the quality, challenge
and output of the external audit is sufficient. As part
of this work, during the year, the Committee considered:
– the risks to audit quality identified by PwC and how
these are being addressed, including through the use
of technology;
– PwC’s key audit firm level controls relied on to address
audit quality risks, reports on PwC’s work from the FRC’s
Audit Quality Review, PwC’s Audit Quality Plan, Strategy
and audit culture and behaviours;
– the calibre of PwC as an external audit firm – including
reputation, coverage and industry presence;
– progress against the agreed audit plan and any changes
to its scope or perceived audit risks;
– the quality and service of the audit team, including
knowledge, resources, partner involvement, team rotation,
planning and execution, scope adequacy and specialist
areas and understanding of the business;
– audit fee reasonableness and scope changes;
– audit communications and effectiveness – response
to new developments and regulations, approach to
critical accounting policies, issues and risks, quality of
processes, timely resolution of issues, level of professional
scepticism and challenge of management assumptions
and the results of those challenges, robustness in handling
key judgements, quality of responses to questions
from the Committee and feedback on management
performance and internal control systems;
– feedback from key stakeholders on the conduct of the audit,
including in private sessions held with (i) management;
and (ii) internal audit without the external auditor present,
and regular meetings between the Committee Chair and
members of management and the internal audit partner;
– independence and objectivity – internal governance
arrangements, lines of communication with the Committee,
integrity of the audit team, Committee confidence in the
audit team and transparency;
– ethical standards, including potential conflicts of interest;
and
– non-audit work and any potential impact on independence.
In September 2024, the effectiveness of PwC and the 2023/24
audit process were also formally evaluated by the Committee
on the basis of feedback provided through questionnaires
completed by the Committee and relevant members of
management. Overall, it was felt that PwC had performed a
smooth and efficient 2023/24 audit and the review highlighted
PwC’s positive levels of communication with the Committee,
appropriate constructive challenge and professional
scepticism, strong technical and specialist knowledge and
its understanding of the Company and sector. Actions were
agreed to further improve the audit process, including to phase
PwC’s audit testing work through the year. For the 2024/25
audit process, the Committee has also agreed with PwC that
it would use a series of Audit Quality Indicators to support
the Committee’s ongoing assessment of PwC’s audit quality
and effectiveness.
121Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Audit, risks and internal controls continued
The Committee also considers the effectiveness of the Group’s
management during the external audit process and sought
feedback from PwC on the conduct and responsiveness of
members of the Finance team. The Committee is satisfied that
there has been a good level of interaction and communication
between the GPE team and PwC.
From its reviews and discussions during the year, the Committee
is satisfied that the audit process and external auditor
continue to be effective. The Committee is satisfied with PwC’s
independence, having also considered PwC’s assessment
and assurances of its independence and objectivity and the
effectiveness of the safeguards it has in place to maintain these,
alongside the Committee’s oversight of the Group’s non-audit
services policy, as further described below.
Non-audit fees
To maintain the objectivity and independence of the
external auditor, and in line with the FRC’s Ethical Standard,
the Committee has a policy in place governing the external
auditor’s provision of non-audit services. This policy is
reviewed annually by the Committee and is available on
our website at www.gpe.co.uk/investors/governance
The policy requires prior approval from the Committee
for any permitted non-statutory assignments over £50,000,
or where such an assignment would take the cumulative
total of non-audit fees paid to the external auditor over 50%
of that year’s audit fees. The appointment of PwC to undertake
any non-audit services also requires the prior approval
of the Chief Financial & Operating Officer who specifically
considers whether it is in the interests of the Company that
the services are provided by PwC, rather than another supplier.
Where non-audit work is performed by PwC, both the Company
and PwC ensure there are robust safeguards to prevent the
objectivity and independence of the auditor from being
compromised. The policy also applies a fee cap on permitted
non-audit services, whereby such fees in any financial year
must not exceed 70% of the average statutory audit fee
for the prior three consecutive financial years paid to the
appointed auditor. The cap on PwC‘s non-audit services will
therefore apply from the year ending 31 March 2027, after
it has completed three audits.
Payments made by the Group for audit and non-audit fees
for the year are disclosed on page 161. In addition, audit
and non-audit fees paid to PwC in respect of joint ventures
totalled £97,760 (GPE share: £48,880) (2024: £94,000
(GPE share: £47,000)) and £nil (2024: £nil) respectively.
During the year, activities undertaken by PwC for the
Group outside of the main audit included:
– the interim review;
– reporting on the income cover in connection with
the debenture trust deed compliance certificate;
– third-party sustainability assurance; and
– reporting accountant services related to the Company’s
rights issue and sustainable bond issuance.
In each case, PwC was considered the most appropriate
service provider due to its position as auditor and given
its detailed knowledge and understanding of our business
and industry. PwC’s non-audit service fees were higher in
2024/25 due to its appointment as reporting accountants to
the Company in connection with the Company’s rights issue
and sustainable bond issuance. It is standard practice for a
Company’s external auditor to undertake these engagements,
since the external auditor’s knowledge and understanding
of the business enables it to complete the work efficiently.
Based on its review and PwC’s analysis, the Committee was
satisfied that appointing PwC to undertake the engagements
was in the best interests of shareholders.
The Committee also monitors the Group’s non-audit
relationships and services provided by other audit firms
and the non-audit fees paid to such firms during the year.
122 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Internal controls and risk management
The Board is responsible for monitoring and reviewing the
Company’s risk management and internal control systems.
The Committee, on behalf of the Board, keeps under review
the adequacy and effectiveness of these systems and, at
least annually, carries out a review of their effectiveness
and reports its recommendations to the Board.
The identification and management of risks and opportunities
is part of the GPE mindset, underpinned by processes and
procedures in place for identifying, evaluating, managing
and mitigating the principal and emerging risks faced
by the Group, and determining acceptable risk tolerance
levels. These processes and procedures have been in place
for the year under review and up to the date of this report,
are regularly reviewed by the Board and the Committee
and accord with the FRC’s Guidance on Risk Management,
Internal Control and Related Financial and Business
Reporting. Details of the Group’s principal and emerging
risks, internal controls and risk management processes
can be found in the Strategic Report on pages 80 to 93.
The Group’s system of internal control can only provide
reasonable, and not absolute, assurance against material
misstatement or loss, as it is designed to manage rather than
eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives.
Key features of our system of internal control include:
– a comprehensive system of financial reporting
and business planning;
– a defined schedule of matters reserved for Board
decision and Terms of Reference for its Committees,
each of which is reviewed by the Board at least annually;
– an organisational structure with clearly defined
levels of authority and division of responsibilities;
– formal documentation of procedures;
– the close involvement of the Executive Directors and
the other Executive Committee members in day-to-
day operations, including regular meetings with senior
managers to review operational activities and risk
management systems;
– the Executive Committee reporting on control systems
to the Committee and Board, including to annually
confirm its view on whether GPE’s internal controls,
and broader control environment, are appropriate
and operating effectively;
– regular Board review of Group strategy, including
forecasts of the Group’s future performance and
progress on the Group’s development projects;
– formal confirmation of compliance with the Group’s
Ethics, Financial Crime (incorporating anti-fraud, bribery
and corruption, facilitation of tax evasion and sanctions),
Gifts and Hospitality and Whistleblowing Policies
by all employees annually; and
– review by the Committee of internal audit reports
and reports from the external auditor.
Twice a year, the Committee carries out a review, on
behalf of the Board, of the Group’s risk management
framework, its principal and emerging risks, key controls
and mitigations, and their oversight. The Group’s systems
of risk management and internal controls involve the
identification of business and financial market risks,
including social, ethical and sustainability issues, which
may impact on the Group’s objectives, and reviewing
the controls and reporting procedures in place designed
to minimise those risks.
As part of its review, the Committee formally considers
the key controls forming the Group’s system of internal
control and whether these are considered to be operating
effectively. The Committee considers a report from
management, the work of internal audit and feedback from
the external auditor. Key control observations, exceptions
and management actions are reviewed and discussed,
and identified risk areas are considered for inclusion in the
internal audit plan where appropriate. Once complete,
the Committee’s review of the Group’s risks and internal
controls, and their effectiveness, is considered by the
full Board. No significant control weaknesses or failures
were identified as part of this year’s internal controls
effectiveness review.
During the year, the Board and Committee have overseen
actions to further enhance controls and the efficiency
of GPE’s internal control framework, which has included:
– further developing GPE’s fraud risk assessment process,
Financial Crime Policy and fraud procedures in response
to the government’s guidance on the new ‘failure to
prevent fraud’ corporate offence under ECCTA, which
comes into effect on 1 September 2025;
– progressing a project to enhance the Group’s internal
controls framework and processes in readiness for the
2024 Code provisions on internal controls effectiveness,
which will apply to the Company from the year
commencing 1 April 2026;
– the planned implementation of a new finance and
property management system which will further
automate and strengthen controls and processes; and
– overseeing the improvement of IT disaster recovery
and application governance controls, along with
the adoption and roll-out of an updated Business
Continuity Plan in the year.
The Board and the Committee continue to review
and monitor the risks, potential impacts and controls
associated with the volatile macro-economic environment,
international trading arrangements and geopolitical
risks. The Group’s business plans continue to be prepared
under a variety of market scenarios to reflect a number
of potential outcomes.
123Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Audit, risks and internal controls continued
Internal audit
Our internal audit function, which has been outsourced to
Grant Thornton since January 2022, provides independent
assurance as to the adequacy and effectiveness of the
Company’s internal controls and risk management systems,
and reports its findings to the Committee. The Committee
meets at least annually with the internal auditor without
management present to discuss the effectiveness of the
internal audit function, and also to seek feedback from the
internal auditor on the conduct of members of the GPE team
during the internal audit process. The Committee Chair also
meets with the internal auditor by herself to discuss planned
internal audit activities and the results of internal audit
reviews. The external audit partner also meets separately
with the internal auditor at least annually.
The Committee reviews and approves the internal audit
plan annually which is closely aligned to the review by
management and the Committee of the Group’s risk
management framework. During the year, Grant Thornton
undertook internal audit reviews in relation to: Service
Charge Management; the implementation of the Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) system; and IT: Application
Governance. The Committee reviewed the findings and
recommended actions alongside the status and closure of
any agreed actions. In particular, the Committee spent time
discussing the lessons learned from the implementation of
the CRM system and how these should be applied to the
planned implementation of the new finance and property
management system. Periodic reports on IT general controls
and cyber governance are also presented to the Board
during the year.
The Committee reviewed and agreed with Grant Thornton
the internal audit plan for 2025/26, having regard to the
Company’s risk management framework. Given its significance
to the Group, the planned audits for the year will focus on the
implementation of the new finance and property management
system and principally the project’s governance, data migration
strategy and assessment of the system integration plan.
The Committee believes that the process for determining the
internal audit plan is appropriate and effective, with scope
for the Committee to react to events, new information
and situations which become known during the year and
to include them as necessary. The plan will continue to be
reviewed and adapted, if required, to meet any changing
needs of the business.
Effectiveness
The Internal Audit Charter approved by the Committee
governs the internal audit remit and provides the framework
for the conduct of the internal audit function.
In January 2025, a formal assessment of the effectiveness
of internal audit was conducted, which was facilitated by
the Company Secretariat team. Key stakeholders were asked
to complete a questionnaire-based assessment which was
designed to evaluate internal audit’s purpose, objectives
and understanding, position, process, relationships and
communication, people and performance. The responses
were collated on an anonymous basis and the results were
shared with the Committee Chair, internal audit partner and
Chief Financial & Operating Officer in advance of discussion
with the Committee. The overall assessment concluded that
the internal audit function remained effective. The review
found that internal audit was trusted and respected by the
business and respondents believed that its work led to lasting
positive change and a stronger risk management culture.
Feedback was discussed with Grant Thornton and resulting
actions agreed, including opportunities to further improve
communication on audits and to build on internal audit’s
standing in the organisation.
Where it is proposed to appoint Grant Thornton in any
advisory role, careful consideration must first be given to any
potential conflict with its internal audit role. The Committee
also specifically consider Grant Thornton’s independence
when annually reviewing and approving the internal audit
plan to ensure that there are no conflicts in Grant Thornton
undertaking the proposed internal audit work.
Our Anti-Fraud, Bribery & Corruption
and Whistleblowing Policies
Annually, the Committee reviews the Group’s Financial Crime,
Ethics, Gifts and Hospitality and Whistleblowing Policies,
which comprise the Company’s key policies on bribery and fraud,
for reporting to the Board. The Board has a zero tolerance for
bribery and corruption of any kind. The Committee also oversees
the periodic review of the Group’s fraud risk assessment matrix.
This year, as explained above, the Committee has been
overseeing a gap analysis of GPE’s fraud prevention procedures
against the government’s guidance on the new ‘failure to prevent
fraud’ corporate offence under ECCTA. This has resulted in
updates to the Group’s Financial Crime Policy along with some
enhancements to our fraud prevention procedures.
Each year, all employees are required to confirm their compliance
with the Group’s Financial Crime, Ethics, Gifts and Hospitality
and Whistleblowing Policies as outlined on page 148, and any
non-compliance is escalated to the Committee as appropriate.
No matters were escalated to the Committee during the year.
The Company’s whistleblowing processes include a confidential
hotline, operated by an independent third party, through which
employees can anonymously raise matters of concern relating
to suspected wrongdoings or dangers at work. Any matters
reported are investigated by the General Counsel & Company
Secretary or the Senior Independent Director.
Supplier payment practices
The Committee reviews the Group’s supplier payment practices
twice a year along with opportunities to further enhance
processes. For the year ended 31 March 2025, the average
supplier payment period of the Group’s largest subsidiary was
33 days (2023/24: 35 days).
124 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
What we did in 2024/25
Year-end planning update
Met with PwC and management to consider:
– significant accounting and key areas of judgement;
– proposed approach for the 2025 Annual Report;
– developments in corporate governance presented
by PwC;
– the 2024/25 audit plan update; and
– the 2024/25 audit fee.
Reviewed non-audit fees and approved revisions to the
Non-Audit Services Policy.
Internal audit
Met with Grant Thornton to discuss the findings from internal
audit reviews, the status of actions arising from previous
audits and the proposed 2025/26 internal audit plan, and
approved updates to the internal audit charter.
Discussed the internal audit effectiveness review.
Other matters
Reviewed GPE’s Financial Crime, Ethics, Gifts and Hospitality
and Whistleblowing Policies and fraud prevention procedures.
Received an update on corporate governance compliance
and the internal controls project and reviewed the
Committee’s Terms of Reference.
Discussed the feedback from the Committee’s
effectiveness review.
Received an update on a reorganisation of the Finance
Operations team.
Received an update on the finance and property
management system replacement project.
Discussed and agreed the plan for the tender and
appointment of a new external portfolio valuer.
February
2024
2025
Review of half-year results
Met with CBRE to consider the September 2024
valuation process and report.
Met with PwC and management to consider:
– PwC’s review of the September 2024 valuation;
– significant accounting and key areas of judgement,
including going concern;
– the 2024/25 half-year results announcement;
– tax updates and an update on GPE’s supplier
payment practices;
– the principal and emerging risks, monitoring of
internal controls and risk management processes;
– the relationship between PwC and management,
with feedback provided by PwC without management
present and from management without PwC present.
Internal audit
Discussed the 2024/25 internal audit plan
and the findings of reviews undertaken.
Other matters
Received an update on the finance and property
management system replacement project.
Discussed an update on the project to prepare for the
2024 Code provisions on internal controls effectiveness.
Received an update on the tender process plans for
the appointment of a new external valuer.
November
Review of year-end results
Met with CBRE to consider the March 2024 valuation
process and report.
Met with PwC and management to review:
– PwC’s audit of the March 2024 valuation;
– significant accounting and key areas of judgement,
including going concern and viability work;
– the 2024 year-end results announcement and
2024 Annual Report;
– tax updates and an update on GPE’s supplier
payment practices; and
– the principal and emerging risks, monitoring of
internal controls and risk management processes;
– PwC’s independence.
Met with PwC’s sustainability team to discuss their
limited assurance over the TCFD and sustainability
disclosures in the 2024 Annual Report.
Internal audit
Discussed 2024/25 internal audit plan updates and the
status of actions arising from previous internal audits.
May
September
Annual planning meeting
Met with PwC and management to review:
– significant accounting and key areas of judgement;
– PwC’s 2024/25 audit plan and audit fee; and
– PwC’s independence report.
Internal audit
Met with Grant Thornton to discuss the progress against
the 2024/25 internal audit plan.
External audit
Discussed the findings and feedback from the external
auditor effectiveness evaluation.
Other matters
Received an update on governance, legislative and
regulatory changes and the progress of actions to
address these, including the UK Listing Rules, 2024 Code,
evolving sustainability reporting requirements and
the new corporate fraud offence under ECCTA.
Received an update on proposals to implement a new
finance and property management system.
125Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Directors’ remuneration report
Our approach
The key objectives of the Remuneration Committee
(the Committee) are to ensure that the Executive
Directors are appropriately incentivised and remuneration
arrangements are fully aligned with the Company’s strategy
to generate superior portfolio and shareholder returns.
As well as being responsible for determining the
remuneration of the Executive Directors, the Committee
is responsible for setting the remuneration of the Chair
of the Board, the members of the Executive Committee
and other senior executives. The Committee also reviews
the broad operation of the remuneration policy and
practices for all employees.
The Directors’ remuneration policy (the Policy),
approved at the AGM held on 6 July 2023 (2023 AGM),
was updated to reflect the current strategy and wider
economic backdrop with a revised bonus scorecard focusing
on the Company’s key business priorities to drive its strategy,
with this scorecard being applied to all colleagues, and
the previous LTIP being replaced by a restricted share plan.
It is felt that the updated Policy better aligns the whole
workforce to the Company’s success. The Policy is next
due for renewal by shareholders at the 2026 AGM.
Committee composition and process
The Committee currently comprises five independent
Non-Executive Directors, as set out above. Nick Hampton
served as a Committee member throughout the year
ended 31 March 2025 and stepped down from the Board
and the Committee on 3 April 2025. Non-Executive
Directors who are not members of the Committee have a
standing invitation to attend meetings of the Committee
as appropriate. While not a member, the Chair of the
Board generally attends meetings except where his own
remuneration is under discussion.
At the request of the Committee, Toby Courtauld, the
Chief Executive, attends Committee meetings where
appropriate and provides input with regard to the
achievement of personal objectives for senior executives.
He also attends discussions on remuneration as considered
appropriate by the Committee, including on new
appointments and promotions and to provide his input
on the development of the Policy. The Chief Financial
& Operating Officer attends discussions regarding the
setting of, and performance against, annual bonus targets.
Carrie Heiss, HR Director, attends Committee meetings
where appropriate to present proposals regarding
Executive Director and workforce remuneration and
related policies, to discuss pay gap analysis and the
alignment of remuneration across the organisation,
and to voice the perspectives of employees
on relevant matters.
The Committee ensures it seeks independent advice
as appropriate and was advised during the year by
independent remuneration consultants, FIT Remuneration
Consultants LLP. The Committee also has access to the
HR Director and General Counsel & Company Secretary
without the Executives present. Consistent with good
practice, no Director or employee is involved in discussions
on their own pay and any decisions are taken without
the affected individual present.
Remuneration
Committee
2024/25 scheduled Committee meetings: Five
Meeting attendance: page 99
Committee’s Terms of Reference:
www.gpe.co.uk/about-us/governance
Committee members
1
Director Role
Emma Woods Committee Chair
Mark Anderson Non-Executive Director
Karen Green Senior Independent Director
Vicky Jarman Non-Executive Director
Champa Magesh Non-Executive Director
1. Nick Hampton also served as a member of the Remuneration
Committee throughout the year, stepping down from the
Board and the Committee on 3 April 2025.
126 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Clarity
Remuneration arrangements
should be transparent and
promote effective engagement
with shareholders and
the workforce
The Committee proactively engages with shareholders and their
representative bodies as part of the Policy renewal process. As part of the
2023 Policy review, it engaged with shareholders representing over 73% of
the share register. The Committee is also regularly updated on developments
in market practice and receives reports on pay and conditions across the
business. In March 2023, the Chair of the Committee invited all employees
to attend an interactive event to discuss the planned Policy revisions
and broader remuneration matters. Employees are periodically updated
on implementation of the Policy and performance against the bonus
scorecard measures.
Simplicity
Remuneration structures
should avoid complexity and
their rationale and operation
should be easy to understand
The Company operates a simple pay model which comprises fixed and
variable remuneration, with the performance conditions for variable
elements clearly communicated to participants. Under the Policy, at least
80% of bonus measures must be objectively measurable.
The Restricted Share Plan (RSP) provides a simple mechanism for aligning
Executive Director and shareholder interests. It removes the difficult
challenge of setting robust and appropriately challenging longer-term
performance targets in a volatile market, thereby avoiding potentially
unintended remuneration outcomes, and significantly reduces the
maximum pay available to Executive Directors.
Risk
Remuneration arrangements
should ensure reputational
and other risks from excessive
rewards, and behavioural risks
that can arise from target-
based incentive plans, are
identified and mitigated
There is broad discretion to reduce variable pay if the Committee does
not consider the formulaic outcome to be appropriate in the circumstances,
and all plans include the ability to operate malus and clawback, where
appropriate. A proportion of each Executive Director’s annual bonus is
deferred into shares for three years and post-cessation shareholding
guidelines apply to mitigate the risk of short-termist behaviours.
Predictability
The range of possible reward
values to individual Directors
and any other limits or
discretions should be identified
and explained at the time of
approving the policy
A scenario chart showing potential pay levels on various assumptions is set out
on page 140, and all awards are subject to maximum grant levels, together
with the discretions set out under ‘Risk’ above. The RSP has increased the
predictability of reward values subject to an overriding discretion to reduce
vesting if not considered appropriate through its underpin.
Proportionality
The link between individual
awards, the delivery of
strategy and the long-term
performance of the
Company should be clear.
Outcomes should not reward
poor performance
The outturn in respect of variable pay is clearly set out in this report on
pages 133 to 136, with payment clearly linked to our strategic and financial
priorities. Pages 11 and 133 set out how the measures under the bonus
scorecard are clearly linked to the Company’s strategy and KPIs. As indicated
under ‘Risk’, the outturn can be reduced by the Committee as appropriate
to ensure that outcomes do not reward poor performance.
Alignment
to culture
Incentive schemes should
drive behaviours consistent
with Company purpose,
values and strategy
Equivalent incentive plans apply to the wider workforce to engender a
high-performance culture. The bonus scorecard is cascaded to all colleagues,
albeit with a higher weighting on personal performance for less senior
colleagues (and with the colleague engagement and diversity elements
excluded for most colleagues to avoid potential for conflicts). All objectives
are linked to the Group’s strategy and KPIs. The Committee reviews the
objectives at the start of each year to ensure they remain aligned with our
key priorities. An individual’s commitment to GPE’s values and behaviours
is also reviewed as part of the personal performance assessment process.
The RSP clearly aligns Executive Directors’ interests with those of shareholders
by ensuring a focus on delivering the strategy to generate long-term value
for shareholders.
Compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018 (the Code)
Throughout the year, the Committee has considered the provisions of the Code. In the Committee’s view, it has complied
with the provisions of the Code, including those set out in Provision 40 as explained below.
127Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Directors’ remuneration report continued
Dear shareholder
I am pleased to present our Directors’ remuneration
report for the year ended 31 March 2025 (the Report)
on behalf of the Committee.
The Committee has implemented the Policy during the
year as set out in this Report and no changes to the Policy
are proposed for 2025/26. A full copy of the Policy can
be found on our website at www.gpe.co.uk/investors/
governance
At our 2024 AGM, our Directors’ remuneration report was
approved with over 95% of votes in favour and I would like
to thank shareholders for their continued support.
The Committee continues to apply the Policy approved at
the 2023 AGM, which was adopted after extensive shareholder
consultation. The Policy recognised the continuing level
of macro uncertainty and introduced a corporate bonus
scorecard with very clear, but stretching targets aligned
to the Group’s strategy. A key part of the success of this
scorecard has been its application across the whole business
and, therefore, its ability to drive Group-wide performance.
The Chief Executive regularly presents progress against the
scorecard in weekly all-colleague meetings and colleagues
generally have directly fed back to me on how useful they
find it to be.
Key decisions
The Committee has had regard to business performance
alongside the wider context explained below when considering
reward and incentive outcomes. Key Committee decisions
for the year, as more fully described in this Report, include:
– determining annual bonus and Long Term Incentive
Plan (LTIP) outcomes;
– agreeing the fee for GPE’s next Chair, William Eccleshare;
– agreeing the salary for the Executive Directors;
– setting the measures with suitably stretching targets for
the annual bonus; and
– approving adjustments to discretionary share plan options
and awards to reflect the impact of the Company’s rights
issue, which completed in June 2024, further details of which
can be found on page 129.
Remuneration outcomes in respect
of the year ended 31 March 2025
Real estate markets continued to be challenging in
the year, impacted by volatile macro-economic conditions
and fluctuating sector sentiment. Despite this, our property
valuations increased by 3.6% on a like-for-like basis, driven
by rental value growth and strong portfolio management
in a broadly stable yield environment. We were, therefore,
pleased to see the return of a positive Total Accounting
Return (TAR) for the year of +6.0%. While a number of real
estate companies are yet to publish their financial results,
we anticipate that our TAR for the year will have marginally
underperformed the median of the peer group of the
FTSE 350 Real Estate Index (excluding agencies) due to the
comparatively stronger performance of other real estate
sectors, including student accommodation, residential,
self-storage and logistics space. Given the challenging
macro backdrop, shareholder returns were down during the
year, with GPE delivering a Total Shareholder Return (TSR)
of -4.6%, outperforming the FTSE 350 Real Estate Index.
In this challenging market, GPE has delivered strong
operational performance through the delivery of premium
HQ offices and Flex spaces into supportive leasing markets.
Alongside this, we successfully completed our £350 million
rights issue in June 2024, which was launched to take
advantage of new investment market opportunities in
central London. We have since allocated substantially all
the proceeds through four acquisitions, significantly below
replacement cost, for a total of £162.1 million or £325 million
including the capex we intend to spend on the buildings.
We have continued to evolve our strategy in response to
market trends. We have further embedded our Customer
First approach, increased our Flex offerings, updated
our Roadmap to Net Zero (Roadmap) and progressed
our diversity and inclusion (D&I) agenda.
Moreover, we have maintained our capital discipline
and increased our financial strength, including through
the issue of our new £250 million sustainable bond in
September 2024. Our loan-to-property value ratio as at
31 March 2025 is 30.8% and our liquidity position remains
strong, with £376.0 million of available cash and undrawn
facilities. We have also maintained the payment of our
ordinary dividends.
Against this backdrop of business performance, the
Company’s variable pay was assessed as set out in the
following sections.
Salaries
As explained in last year’s report, the average all-colleague
salary increase was 4.9%. The Committee continued to focus
increases on the lowest-paid colleagues and increased
Toby Courtauld’s, Nick Sanderson’s and Dan Nicholson’s
salaries by a more modest 2%, below the employee average.
I am pleased that our bonus scorecard
continues to be embedded across
all levels within the business as a
key tool for continuous assessment
of our ambition and achievement.”
Emma Woods Chair of the Remuneration Committee
128 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Annual Bonus Plan
This was the second year of our bonus scorecard. The move
to a more target-focused operational scorecard was
designed to drive GPE’s strategy and performance and to
incentivise its talented team while optimising returns for
shareholders. As explained when we adopted the Policy,
the bonus measures are subject to annual review and the
weighting on financial measures was increased from 50%
to 60% for 2024/25 as reported last year.
As outlined above and in the Chief Executive’s report on
pages 21 and 22, the key scorecard achievements over
the year were:
– our total rent on market lettings in the year beating
ERV by over 10% whilst maintaining a low vacancy rate
at 5.9% through strong leasing activity, despite the
challenging macro-economic backdrop;
– allocating £325 million of rights issue proceeds through
four acquisitions (including capex);
– growing the net operating income (NOI) of our Fully
Managed spaces beyond £16 million as we continue
to strengthen our offer;
– hitting key targets in the delivery of our development
pipeline, including at 2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2,
30 Duke Street, SW1 and Minerva House, SE1;
– achieving a strong customer Net Promoter Score (NPS)
of +26.1 (metric expanded for the year to include retail
in addition to office customers);
– ensuring that our new developments remain on track
to being net zero; and
– achieving a strong colleague engagement score of over
80% as we continue our efforts to maintain a positive
and inclusive culture.
Whilst progress continued to be made against our Roadmap
targets, performance on energy consumption did not meet
the threshold level of performance.
Full details of the bonus outturn, and the linkage of the
targets to our strategic priorities, can be found on page 133.
The bonus outcome for 2024/25 is a 62.9% achievement
before the operation of the personal element (which applies
to only 10% of the total bonus). To reflect an exceptional
year with the successful capital raisings and the allocation
of substantially all of the rights issue proceeds, the personal
element was assessed at 87%, 80% and 80% for each of
the Chief Executive, Chief Financial & Operating Officer
and the Executive Director respectively. This resulted
in total payouts for the three Executive Directors being
broadly in line with the prior year at 65.3% for the Chief
Executive and 64.6% for each of the Chief Financial
& Operating Officer and the Executive Director.
Against this backdrop, the Committee considered the
bonus outturn, and confirmed both that the scorecard
was operating as intended in aligning variable pay to key
milestones and that the outturn should be applied without
the exercise of any discretion. Of the Executive Directors’
achieved bonuses, 40% will be deferred into shares for three
years under the Company’s Deferred Share Bonus Plan (DSBP).
2022 LTIP vesting
While the LTIP was replaced by the RSP in 2023 and no further
grants will be made, outstanding awards will continue to run
their course. Performance under the 2022 LTIP (being the last
outstanding LTIP) is expected to result in no vesting based
on the information available as at 31 March 2025 (a nil vesting
of the TAR measure having already been confirmed).
Overall outturn
The Committee considered the overall outturn for the year,
with a moderately above target bonus and a zero vest under
the 2022 LTIP, to be in line with both the significant progress
against the Board’s strategic objectives (justifying the bonus
outturn) and the shareholder experience (leading to the
zero vest of the LTIP) resulting in the Committee approving
this outturn without the exercise of discretion.
Chief Executive outturn vs maximum and target opportunity
£000
Base salary Benefits Pension Annual bonus LTIP
2,5000 1,000500 1,500 2,000 3,000 4,0003,500
Achieved
Maximum
Target
Toby Courtauld
Rights issue adjustments
To reflect the impact of the Company’s rights issue which
completed in June 2024, and to ensure that participants
were not adversely affected, the Committee approved,
in accordance with the respective plan rules, adjustments
to outstanding share awards and options granted under the
Company’s discretionary share plans by way of an increase
in the number of shares subject to those awards or options.
The adjustments were calculated using the market standard
‘TERPS’ formula. Details of the adjustments made to Directors’
awards and options can be found on page 137.
The Committee also approved adjustments to the TAR
performance conditions applicable to the 2022 LTIP awards
and 2024/25 annual bonus. In each case, to reflect the
underlying economic impact of the rights issue and to maintain
economic neutrality so that the awards continued to operate
as intended and without being materially easier or harder
to achieve, the EPRA NTA (and therefore TAR) at the start
of the relevant performance period was adjusted using an
adjusted pro forma NTA per share, as detailed on page 32
and in note 9 to the financial statements on pages 163 to 167.
As explained above, and following these adjustments,
the 2022 LTIP TAR target has not been achieved and the
2024/25 annual bonus TAR measure is not expected to
pay out based on latest estimates.
129Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Directors’ remuneration report continued
Decisions relating to the year
ending March 2026
Salaries
For the year commencing 1 April 2025, the average all-
colleague salary increase has been reduced from 4.9%
last year to 3.5% (inclusive of an allowance for promotions and
some benchmarking adjustments). The Committee increased the
salaries of the Chief Executive and Chief Financial & Operating
Officer by 3% in line with the baseline increase awarded to
most colleagues. Following a benchmarking exercise, the
salary of the Executive Director, Dan Nicholson, was increased
by 9.5% to ensure his salary remained competitive in the
market. He was originally appointed on a below-market
salary for what was then a new role at the Company and this
uplift reflects confirmation of the success of the role itself,
his increased experience in role and the wider responsibilities
he has assumed in recent years, including responsibility for
Investment and Health and Safety. Precise benchmark data
is hard to assess definitively but, when such a role exists, it is
common to align the salary with the Chief Financial Officer
role. Partly recognising the Chief Financial & Operating
Officer’s wider remit, Dan’s salary has been set at a c.14%
discount to that role which the Committee intends to keep
under periodic review.
Annual bonus
The Executive Directors’ bonus opportunity will remain
at 150% of salary, with 40% of any bonus earned deferred
into shares for three years under the DSBP. The Committee
undertook its annual review of the scorecard and made minor
changes, as set out below, to ensure the scorecard remains
appropriately aligned with the Group’s strategic priorities,
including to further emphasise the importance of asset
sales and income:
– an additional leasing measure with a 10% weighting will
be introduced to ensure we also capture customer retention
and the pre-letting of development schemes, which will
be key priorities for the year;
– as we look to recycle capital in an evolving market, we have
introduced an asset sales target (with a 5% weighting) in
place of the previous deployment of rights issue proceeds
measure (which had a 10% weighting);
– the previous Fully Managed annualised NOI measure will
be changed to a new Fully Managed P&L NOI Target, with
the weighting reduced from 10% to 5%. These revised
weightings enable the new leasing measure to be added while
maintaining an overall 60% weighting on financial measures;
– in view of our significant development programme, the
weighting of the development measure will be increased
from 5% to 7.5%, balanced through the energy consumption
and net zero developments measures each being reduced
by 1.25%; and
– there will be a minor change to the NPS measure to again
focus on GPE’s office customer NPS performance rather
than retail.
Restricted Share Plan (RSP)
The next grant under the RSP is expected to be made in or around
May 2025. Under this grant, each Executive Director is expected
to again receive an award over shares worth 150% of salary,
which will be subject to assessment against a performance
underpin following the third anniversary of grant and then
subject to a further two-year holding period.
Malus and clawback
The Committee has a general and absolute discretion
to reduce the level of vesting of awards to a lower amount
(including to zero) where it considers this to be appropriate
and taking into account any factors it deems relevant.
In addition to this, malus and clawback provisions are in place
for the Executive Directors under each of the Annual Bonus
Plan, the RSP and the DSBP. The period in which clawback
operates is until the third anniversary of the vesting of RSP
and DSBP awards and for potentially up to three years from
the date of payment of any bonuses. The terms under which
malus and clawback operate are:
– personal misconduct;
– errors in the assessment, including any assumptions;
– serious reputational damage (malus only); and
– corporate failure (malus only).
For clawback, the Company may also reduce future salary,
bonuses and awards under share plans to require the
actual repayment of amounts in order to enforce clawback
if necessary.
In order to effect post-cessation of employment obligations,
a special nominee share account arrangement has been set
up for each of the Executive Directors, who have each signed
associated shareholding declarations.
Policy review
Our Policy was last approved by shareholders at the 2023 AGM.
It must next be submitted to shareholders for approval at
the 2026 AGM. The Committee will therefore be considering
the renewal of the existing Policy during 2025/26 and will
consult with major shareholders and proxy advisory firms
regarding any proposed revisions to it. This process will
be led by me as Chair of the Committee.
I hope you find this Report clear and informative and I look
forward to receiving your support for the resolution approving
the Report at the 2025 AGM, where I plan to be available
to engage with shareholders.
Emma Woods
Chair of the Remuneration Committee
20 May 2025
130
Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Our overarching remuneration policy principles
The Executive Directors’ total pay is analysed by looking
at each of the different elements of remuneration, including
salary, benefits, pension, the Annual Bonus Plan and long-
term incentives, to provide the Committee with a view of
total remuneration rather than just the competitiveness
of the individual elements. It is important that the Group’s
remuneration policy aligns with and reinforces the
Company’s purpose, culture and values, providing effective
incentives for exceptional Group and individual performance.
As well as providing motivation to perform, remuneration
plays an important retention role and needs to be
appropriately competitive without being excessive.
To achieve the aims of the Policy, the Committee generally seeks
to position fixed remuneration, including benefits and pension,
by reference to the mid-market position, taking into account
the size and complexity of the business as compared with
other peer companies in the sector and, using a significant
proportion of variable reward, offers the ability to increase
total potential remuneration for superior performance
through the Annual Bonus Plan and long-term incentives.
The Committee seeks to apply consistent principles to
remuneration across the organisation. Our approach to
salary reviews is to consider each employee’s level of responsibility,
experience, individual performance, salary levels in comparable
companies and the Company’s ability to pay. The Committee
is advised of pay levels throughout the Group, and takes into
account wider pay and conditions across the Group when
determining the remuneration of the Executive Directors
and other members of senior management. It is advised of
benchmark pay levels and remuneration surveys, and meetings
with sector specialists are used, where appropriate, to establish
market rates. The Committee also discusses GPE’s pay gap
statistics alongside our D&I objectives and related policies.
The weighting of the different components of an employee’s
remuneration will vary depending on their role, responsibilities
and seniority, with senior employees having a higher proportion
of their remuneration linked to variable reward and Company
performance. However, we apply our overarching remuneration
principles, and provide a competitive and consistent remuneration
and benefits package, as appropriate, throughout GPE.
This is made up of the following key components:
Salary
All employees receive a market-competitive base salary reflective of the individual’s role, responsibilities
and experience, which is subject to an annual external benchmarking review for approximately 95% of our roles.
Executive Directors: same approach.
Benefits
All employees receive market-competitive benefits, including private medical insurance.
Executive Directors: same approach (no car allowance).
Pension
All employees are eligible and encouraged to join the GPE pension scheme (and receive a cash sum in
lieu when they are subject to capping arrangements) to save for their retirement, with an employer
contribution of 15% in almost all cases.
Executive Directors: contribution levels are aligned with the wider workforce at 15%.
SIP
All employees can join the Company’s Share Incentive Plan (SIP), allowing employees to purchase Company
shares in a tax-efficient way and to receive matching shares, thereby encouraging employee share ownership.
68% of GPE’s employees participate in the SIP.
Executive Directors: also eligible to participate in the SIP.
Annual
Bonus Plan
All employees participate in the Annual Bonus Plan. All employees are subject to the same measures, with
the exception of the employee engagement and diversity measures which will not apply to most colleagues
to avoid conflicts of interest, while less senior colleagues have a higher weighting on personal performance.
Executive Directors: have a maximum bonus opportunity of 150% of salary with 40% of any outturn being
deferred into shares for three years under the DSBP.
RSP
Those able to influence long-term performance, generate significant sustainable returns or managing major
capital budgets may participate in the RSP. RSP awards (like prior LTIP awards) will vest after three years.
Executive Directors: have a larger potential maximum opportunity under the RSP, being eligible to
receive an award of up to 150% of base salary. RSP awards are subject to a five-year release period
(comprising a three-year underpin period followed by a two-year holding period).
Employee engagement on remuneration
The Company engages with employees on remuneration
generally, including executive remuneration. In March 2023,
the Committee Chair led an interactive all-employee event
to discuss the proposed changes to the previous Policy.
Employees have since been periodically updated on the
implementation of the Policy and performance against the
bonus scorecard measures. Employee views on remuneration
will be considered as part of our upcoming review of the Policy,
which is due for renewal at the 2026 AGM.
More broadly, remuneration is regularly discussed with
employees. GPE’s annual review process, and how this
links to employees’ remuneration, is incorporated into our
new joiner induction process, along with an introduction
to GPE’s SIP (all-employee share plan). Briefing sessions are
also held with employees from time to time to discuss pay
policies and the work of the Committee, as well as to enable
employees to find out more about GPE’s pension scheme
and all-employee share plan offer.
131Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Directors’ remuneration report continued
This Report sets out how the Policy was applied in 2024/25 and how it will be applied for the forthcoming year. It is divided into
four sections:
Section of Report Page numbers
Executive Directors’ remuneration for the year ended 31 March 2025 See pages 132 to 138
Executive Directors’ remuneration for the year ending 31 March 2026 See pages 139 and 140
Chair and Non-Executive Directors’ remuneration See page 141
Other disclosures See pages 142 to 145
The Company’s auditor has reported on specific sections of this Report and stated, where applicable, that, in its opinion, those
sections have been properly prepared in accordance with Schedule 8 to the Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups
(Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, as amended. The sections that have been subject to audit are marked with an asterisk (*).
The Policy was approved by shareholders at the 2023 AGM and is available on the Company’s website at www.gpe.co.uk/
investors/governance
Executive Directors’ remuneration for the year ended 31 March 2025
Executive Directors’ single figure table*
Base Fixed Annual Variable
salary
1
Benefits
Pension
2
SIP
3
Total
Bonus
4
LTIP
Total
Total
8,9
Executive 2025 2024 2025 2024 2025 2024 2025 2024 2025 2024
2025
5
2024
2025
6
2024
7
2025 2024 2025 2024
Directors £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Toby
Courtauld
692
679
20
18
104
102
4
4
820
803
678
653
0
0
678
653
1,498
1,456
Nick
Sanderson
476
467
19
19
71
70
4
4
570
560
462
449
0
0
462
449
1,032
1,009
Dan
Nicholson
2
388
380
10
8
58
57
4
4
460
449
376
363
0
0
376
363
836
812
1. Please refer to the ‘Salary’ table on page 139 for details of Executive Directors’ annual salaries.
2. Toby Courtauld and Nick Sanderson received a pension allowance of 15% of their basic salary in line with the wider workforce. Dan Nicholson has
received a mix of employer pension contributions and pension allowance of 15% of his basic salary in aggregate (receiving £10,000 of his total contribution
into a registered pension).
3. The value of the matching shares awarded under the SIP are calculated using the share price on the date the shares were purchased.
4. 40% of the annual bonus is deferred into shares for three years under the DSBP. Deferred bonus shares are not subject to any further conditions.
5. The estimated 2025 annual bonus outcome based on information available as at 20 May 2025, with the relative TAR measure to be confirmed following
the publication of results by comparator companies.
6. A nil vesting of the 2022 LTIP awards has been assumed based on the information available as at 20 May 2025.
7. The figures disclosed in the 2024 Annual Report for the 2021 LTIP vesting were based on an estimated nil vesting which was subsequently confirmed.
8. The single figure for the total remuneration due to the Directors for the year ended 31 March 2025.
9. The aggregate emoluments (being salary/fees, benefits, cash allowances in lieu of pension and bonus) of all Directors for the year ended 31 March 2025
was £4,090,786 (2024: £3,958,000).
Fixed pay:
Taxable benefits*
Benefits principally comprise private medical insurance, membership subscriptions, travel expenses, luncheon vouchers,
the Employee Assistance Programme and entertainment. No individual benefit provided has a value which is significant
enough to warrant separate disclosure.
Pensions*
None of the Executive Directors participate in the Group’s defined benefit final salary pension plan, which was closed to
new entrants in 2002. Each Executive Director’s employer pension contribution rate is 15%, in line with the wider workforce.
All-employee share plan: SIP*
In line with the wider workforce, Executive Directors may participate in the SIP, which is an HMRC tax-advantaged plan. Participants
may save up to £150 from their monthly pre-tax salary to purchase shares. For every share purchased, GPE grants two matching shares.
Shares acquired attract dividends paid by the Company, typically announced at the half year and year end.
132 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Variable pay:
Executive Directors’ 2025 bonus outcome*
The table below sets out the annual bonus performance, targets and achievements for 2024/25.
Threshold Maximum Actual
Key performance performance Actual performance
elements Max. % target target performance level as a %
of strategy
of salary
Measured by
(20% payout) (100% payout) achieved of maximum
Market
30%
GPE Relative TAR
1
(EPRA NTA growth + dividends)
Median
Upper
Below Median
2
0%
2
performance
per share vs FTSE 350 real estate companies
quartile
(estimated)
excluding agencies
†
(20% weighting)
All
Optimising
15%
Rent achieved on market lettings during year
31 March 2024 5% above 10.6% 100%
financial vs ERV (as per CBRE valuation at start of year) – ERV ERV above ERV
performance
‘% beat to market rent’
†
(40% weighting –
15%
Vacancy rate at year end (including completed
7.5%
5.5%
5.9%
84%
10% each)
development/refurbished space during year)
†
1
2
3
4
5
15%
Successful deployment of rights issue proceeds
†3
£115 million
£230 million
£242 million
100%
15%
Fully Managed annualised NOI at year end
†
£12 million
£15 million
£16.1 million
100%
Transforming
7.5%
Delivery of on-site developments vs milestones
40% of milestones All milestones All milestones 100%
the business
set for key schemes
†
delivered delivered delivered
and putting
7.5%
Market-leading customer NPS (office and retail)
†
+20 points
>+40 points
+26.1 points
44.4%
customers first
(10% weighting –
5% each)
2
3
4
5
6
Delivering
7.5%
Reduction in energy consumption (targets set
152 kWh/m
2
<144 kWh/m
2
153 kWh/m
2
0%
our Roadmap
each year against Roadmap)
†
to Net Zero
7.5%
All new developments to be net zero or on
40%
100%
100%
100%
(10% weighting –
track to be net zero
†
5% each)
1
5
6
Personal
15%
Personal objectives (reduced from historic
Partial Exceeding See pages Toby Courtauld
and business 15% of opportunity – 22.5% of salary) achievement personal 134 and 135 87%
culture of personal objectives Nick Sanderson
objectives
(20% weighting – 80%
10% for personal Dan Nicholson
objectives, 5% 80%
for each of the
7.5%
Maintaining and nurturing a positive and
Score of 65%
Score of 80%
Score of 80.3%
100%
other two) inclusive culture (measured through employee
All
engagement and inclusion index survey scores)
†
7.5%
Achievement against gender and
Progress made Both targets Progress made 20%
diversity targets
4
against both achieved against both
targets targets
Target
performance (50%
payout) – one
target achieved
and one improved
† On a straight-line basis.
1
Denotes strategic priorities for 2024/25 as set out on pages 08 and 09.
1. As with the previous arrangements, any dividends will be deducted from the base figure from the point of distribution (as it is not realistic to
deliver growth after capital has been repaid to shareholders), except where reflected in some other way such as through a share consolidation.
2. Estimated based on information available as of 20 May 2025. The actual outcome will be confirmed in next year’s Annual Report.
3. The deployment target excluded the anticipated capex for Soho Square Estate, W1, acquired prior to the rights issue, since it was not expected
to be committed during the financial year.
4. Targets to be achieved by 31 March 2025: (i) 40% women in senior leadership roles; and (ii) 20% of management roles to be filled by colleagues
identifying with an Office for National Statistics ethnic minority category.
The table below sets out the total annual bonus receivable by Executive Directors for 2024/25:
Executive Director
Total annual bonus receivable
% of Maximum
(150% of salary)
£
Toby Courtauld
65.3%
678,250
Nick Sanderson
64.6%
461,641
Dan Nicholson
64.6%
376,059
133Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Directors’ remuneration report continued
Executive Directors’ personal objectives*
The weighting on personal objectives was 10% of the total opportunity. These objectives, approved by the Committee, are
designed to focus on the delivery of the strategic priorities and the successful management of risk for both 2024/25 and the
longer term. Following consideration of achievement against the Executive Directors’ personal objectives set at the beginning
of the year as listed below, the Committee awarded Toby Courtauld, Nick Sanderson and Dan Nicholson 87%, 80% and 80%
respectively for performance against personal objectives.
Measure Score Key achievements
Execute approved
strategy and operational
excellence
CEO
55%/60%
CF&OO
48%/60%
ED
44%/50%
Shared
– Successful delivery of £350 million fully underwritten rights issue.
– Accretively deployed the rights issue proceeds, well ahead of programme, including through
four acquisitions.
– Executed major capital allocation activities, including commitment to refurbishment
of The Courtyard, WC1.
– Exceeded leasing targets; beating both void and ERV targets.
– Delivered strong Flex progress, growing committed Flex space to 582,000 sq ft and exceeding
annualised Fully Managed NOI target.
– Delivered NPS above industry average.
CEO
– Developed and delivered the strategy, equity story and narrative for raising capital to take
advantage of market conditions.
– Oversaw development of sustainability agenda, including adoption of Roadmap to Net Zero v.2.0,
double materiality review and the launch of GPE’s Circularity Score and targets.
– Drove a target-beating leasing year with £37.7 million of new rent and market lettings 10.6%
ahead of the 31 March 2024 ERV.
CF&OO
– Led the delivery of the Company’s rights issue process and its communication externally
following approval by the Board.
– Led on debt financing activity, including the issuance of the Company’s £250 million sustainable
bond and new £150 million Revolving Credit Facility.
– Oversaw roll-out of the customer service proposition and customer engagement initiatives.
– Ensured the successful launch of new Flex spaces at SIX St Andrew Street, EC4, Kent House, W1,
and 31/34 Alfred Place, WC1 and oversaw the development of the Flex platform.
– Developed and implemented proactive external communications strategy.
ED
– Developed the acquisitions pipeline and ensured accretive acquisitions executed through
strong involvement and leadership of the Investment team.
– Secured planning permission for Soho Square Estate, W1 and The Courtyard, WC1 developments;
revised planning permission submitted at St Thomas Yard, SE1.
– Key milestones achieved at on-site developments, including at 2 Aldermanbury Square, EC2,
30 Duke Street, SW1, and Minerva House, SE1, SIX St Andrew Street, EC4 and 31/34 Alfred Place,
WC1, completed.
– Oversaw execution of asset business plans.
134
Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Measure Score Key achievements
Develop the team CEO
25%/30%
CF&OO
25%/30%
ED
30%/40%
Shared
– Continued focus on talent development of key successors for future leadership roles.
CEO
– Development of direct reports through mentoring and coaching.
– Supported on reorganisation of team to support delivery of Digital, Technology & Innovation Strategy.
CF&OO
– Enhanced operational capability of Finance team through new hires and reorganisation.
– Continued support to senior leaders, especially sponsoring growth in Customer Experience
and Flex senior roles.
ED
– Provided support and commercial oversight and leadership to the Portfolio, Investment,
Development and Project Management teams.
– Dedicated support to Health and Safety team during period of team reorganisation.
Champion our purpose,
live our values
CEO
7%/10%
CF&OO
7%/10%
ED
6%/10%
Shared
– Strong and improved employee engagement scores, notably around leadership and strategic direction.
– Displaying strong leadership during a period of macro-economic uncertainty.
– D&I initiatives and representation targets progressed. Hit target of 50% appointment rate for
female hires into roles above £75,000. Now over half of Head of Department roles are held by women.
CEO
– Demonstrated role model behaviours to ensure values are embodied across the Group
and championed D&I initiatives.
CF&OO
– Demonstrated effective leadership of Flex and Customer Experience strategies.
– Oversaw update of the People Strategy, including the D&I Plan.
ED
– Effective leadership and oversight of direct reports.
– Worked closely with the HR team to hire and retain talent and improve gender diversity within teams.
Executive Director Total performance assessment Bonus receivable for personal objectives
Toby Courtauld (CEO) 87%/100% £90,336
Nick Sanderson (CF&OO) 80%/100% £57,151
Dan Nicholson (ED) 80%/100% £46,556
While each of the Executive Directors was separately assessed, they inevitably had a number of common objectives so the
above table identifies both individual and shared objectives. In each case, their contribution to the delivery of those objectives
was considered.
Executive Directors’ personal objectives continued
135Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Directors’ remuneration report continued
Executive Directors’ LTIPs*
Anticipated vesting of 2022 LTIP awards
The table below sets out the anticipated vesting of the 2022 LTIP awards in May 2025, together with indicative payouts for the
Executive Directors. The anticipated value of these awards at vesting reflects the disclosure in the single figure table on page 132.
Key elements
of strategy % of award Measured by
Threshold
performance
target (20%)
Maximum
performance
target (100%)
Estimated
performance
Estimated
vesting level as at
20 May 2025
as a percentage
of maximum by
vesting date
1
Shareholder
value
50% Relative TSR
(based on a three-year
performance period)
Median Upper
quartile
Below
Median
0%
Absolute
performance
50% Absolute TAR
(based on a three-year
performance period)
3% p.a. 8% p.a. -5.2% p.a.
(actual)
0%
Total
(estimated)
0%
1. The 2022 LTIPs granted to each of the Executive Directors are due to vest on 27 May 2025. For the TAR target, the performance period for the 2022 awards
is the three-year period to 31 March 2025. For the TSR element, the vesting period is the three-year period from the award date (27 May 2022) and compares
the Company’s TSR to that of the constituents, at the date of grant, of the FTSE 350 Real Estate Index excluding agencies.
Confirmed vesting of 2021 LTIP awards
The figures provided in the 2024 Annual Report for the 2021 LTIP awards were disclosed on an estimated basis. The table below
sets out the confirmed performance outcomes of the 2021 LTIP awards that resulted in a 0% vesting following the expiry of the
three-year performance period on 7 June 2024.
Key elements
of strategy % of award Measured by
Threshold
performance
target (20%)
Maximum
performance
target (100%) Performance
Confirmed
percentage
of maximum
at end of
performance
period
(7 June 2024)
Shareholder
value
50% Relative TSR
(based on a three-year
performance period)
Median Upper
quartile
Below Median 0%
Absolute
performance
50% Absolute TAR
(based on a three-year
performance period)
3% p.a. 7% p.a. -5.5% p.a. 0%
Total 0%
136 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Outstanding share awards*
The following tables provide details of outstanding share awards under the LTIP, RSP and the DSBP. All awards were granted in the
form of nil cost options. The number of shares subject to the award have been restated to reflect adjustments made following the
Company’s rights issue in June 2024. For the original awards (before adjustments), please see the Company’s 2024 Annual Report.
Executive
Director Date of grant
Face value of
award made
£000
No. of shares
under award
pre-rights issue
1,5
Adjustment
to reflect
rights issue
5
No. of shares
on exercise
2
No. of shares
under award as
at 31 March 2025
5
End of
performance/
underpin period
Toby Courtauld
LTIP 3 June 2019 1,809 18,686
(7.41% vesting)
3,850 22,536 – 2 June 2022
27 May 2022
4
1,939 300,391 61,900 362,291 26 May 2025
DSBP 2 May 2021 88 12,410 2,557 14,967 – n/a
27 May 2022 211 32,652 6,728 – 39,380 n/a
2 June 2023 252 51,486 10,609 – 62,095 n/a
20 June 2024 261 76,689 n/a – 76,689 n/a
RSP
3
7 July 2023 1,018 241,024 49,666 – 290,690 6 July 2026
20 June 2024 1,038 304,769 n/a – 304,769 19 June 2027
Total 1,038,107 1,135,914
Nick Sanderson
LTIP 3 June 2019 1,245 12,856
(7.41% vesting)
2,649 15,505 – 2 June 2022
27 May 2022
4
1,334 206,671 42,587 – 249,258 26 May 2025
DSBP 2 May 2021 64 9,075 1,870 10,945 – n/a
27 May 2022 145 22,465 4,629 – 27,0 9 4 n/a
2 June 2023 175 35,832 7, 383 – 43,215 n/a
20 June 2024 180 52,763 n/a – 52,763 n/a
RSP
3
7 July 2023 700 165,826 34,171 – 199,997 6 July 2026
20 June 2024 714 209,683 n/a – 209,683 19 June 2027
Total 715,171 782,010
Dan Nicholson
LTIP 27 May 2022
4
1,087 168,357 34,692 – 203,049 26 May 2025
DSBP 27 May 2022 54 8,377 1,726 – 10,103 n/a
2 June 2023 138 28,190 5,809 – 33,999 n/a
20 June 2024 145 42,646 n/a – 42,646 n/a
RSP
3
7 July 2023 571 135,084 27, 8 3 6 – 162,920 6 July 2026
20 June 2024 582 170,811 n/a – 170,811 19 June 2027
Total 553,465 623,528
1. For all awards, the face value is calculated on the five-day average share price prior to the date of grant. For the 2019 LTIP, this was up to and including
31 May 2019, being £7.18. For the 2022 LTIP, this was up to and including 26 May 2022, being £6.46. For the 2023 RSP, this was up to and including 6 July 2023,
being £4.22. For the 2024 RSP, this was up to and including 19 June 2024, being £3.407. For the 2021 DSBP, this was up to and including 1 May 2021, being £7.09.
For the 2022 DSBP, this was up to and including 26 May 2022, being £6.455. For the 2023 DSBP, this was up to and including 1 June 2023, being £4.896. For the
2024 DSBP, this was up to and including 19 June 2024, being £3.407.
2. On 28 May 2024, Toby Courtauld and Nick Sanderson exercised nil cost options granted to them under the 2021 DSBP over 12,410 and 9,075 shares respectively.
Of these, 5,833 and 4,266 shares respectively were exercised and sold when the share price was £3.535 each to cover tax and national insurance liabilities.
On 21 June 2024, Toby Courtauld and Nick Sanderson exercised nil cost options over 2,557 and 1,870 shares respectively granted to them following an
adjustment to their 2021 DSBP awards following the Company’s rights issue. Of these, 1,210 and 887 shares respectively were exercised and sold when the
share price was £3.352 to cover tax and national insurance liabilities. On 9 September 2024, Toby Courtauld and Nick Sanderson exercised nil cost options
granted to them under the 2019 LTIP over 22,536 and 15,505 shares respectively (such number of shares having been adjusted following the Company’s
rights issue). Of these, 10,593 and 7,288 shares respectively were exercised and sold when the share price was £3.475 each to cover tax and national
insurance liabilities. The aggregate gain on the exercise of all options was, therefore, £222,981.25.
3. The vesting is subject to a robust underpin allowing the Committee to reduce the vesting of awards in whatever circumstances it considers to be appropriate and
the Committee will also specifically consider reducing vesting levels in the event of a breach of the financial covenants of the Group’s principal debt facilities;
failure to make satisfactory progress in delivering our Sustainability Statement of Intent; or there being material damage to the reputation of the Company.
4. The estimated overall outcome for the 27 May 2022 LTIP as at 20 May 2025 is 0% equating to nil shares vesting for each of the Executive Directors.
5. In addition, a cash sum equivalent to the value of dividends on the number of plan shares which vest in respect of the period from grant to vesting will
be payable at the end of that period.
137Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Directors’ remuneration report continued
Executive Director remuneration from other roles
Executive Directors are able to accept external Board appointments with the consent of the Board. Any fees received by
an Executive Director for such an external appointment can be retained by the individual. Toby Courtauld is a Non-Executive
Director of Liv-ex Limited, for which he received no remuneration prior to 2025. In 2025, he received remuneration of £30,000 in
aggregate for his service to Liv-ex Limited for 2023, 2024 and 2025 and, going forward, will receive a fee of £10,000 per annum.
He received no remuneration for serving as a Director of the New West End Company.
Nick Sanderson is a Trustee of the Outward Bound Trust, for which he received no remuneration during the year.
Executive Directors’ shareholdings and share interests*
Share ownership is a key means by which the interests of Executive Directors are aligned to those of shareholders. Executive
Directors are required to hold a minimum of 300% of base salary in shares. The table below sets out their holdings (including those
of their connected persons) against the requirement and their beneficial and conditional ownership as at 31 March 2025.
Dan Nicholson joined the Board on 6 September 2021. In line with the other Executive Directors, he is required to retain all
shares that are vested to him, net of any tax liabilities, until his shareholding requirement is satisfied.
Director
Beneficial ownership Conditional ownership
1
Shareholding
requirement
2
No. of
shares
owned
as at
31 March
2025
3
No. of
shares
owned
as at
31 March
2024
3
SIP
Matching
shares
subject to
forfeiture
Total
beneficial
ownership
as at
31 March
2025
LTIP/RSP
subject to
performance
conditions/
underpins
LTIP/RSP
awards which
have met their
performance
conditions and
remain subject
to a holding
period
4
DSBP
5
Total
beneficial
and
conditional
ownership
as at
31 March
2025
4,5
Current
share-
holding %
of salary
6
Requirement
met?
Toby
Courtauld
2,151,982 1,399,022 2,648 2,154,630 957,750 0 178,164 2,249,057 967% Yes
Nick
Sanderson
476,852 287,81 8 2,648 479,500 658,938 0 123,072 544,728 340% Yes
Dan
Nicholson
37,536 20,556 2,648 40,184 536,780 0 86,748 86,160 66% No
1. LTIP, RSP and DSBP awards are granted in the form of nil cost options. A nil vesting of the 2022 LTIP awards has been assumed based on the information
available as at 20 May 2025.
2. Executive Directors are expected to retain the lower of actual shares held at cessation and shares equal to 300% of salary for two years post-cessation.
Shares retained following vesting of RSP and DSBP awards granted after the 2020 AGM will be held via escrow/a nominee arrangement to enable
enforcement of the post-cessation guidelines. Circumstances in which malus and clawback will be applied are set out on page 130.
3. Excludes SIP shares that are subject to forfeiture.
4. There are no LTIP/RSP vested but unexercised options.
5. Consistent with best practice, estimated after-tax shares retained are included in the total beneficial and conditional ownership and the shareholding
requirement (53% of shares retained).
6. Holdings are calculated based on the share price as at 31 March 2025 of £2.975.
Between 1 April 2025 and 20 May 2025 (inclusive), Toby Courtauld and Dan Nicholson each acquired 49 Partnership shares and
98 conditional Matching shares and Nick Sanderson acquired 48 Partnership shares and 96 conditional Matching shares under
the SIP. In addition, under the SIP, 42 Matching shares vested to each of Toby Courtauld and Nick Sanderson and 44 Matching
shares vested to Dan Nicholson. Otherwise there were no other changes in any of their shareholdings during that period.
138 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Executive Directors’ remuneration for the year ending 31 March 2026
Statement of implementation of Policy for the year ending 31 March 2026
The Policy and its implementation for the Executive Directors for the forthcoming financial year is summarised below.
Salary
Executive Director
Year ending
31 March 2026
£000
1
Year ended
31 March 2025
£000
1
Base salary
increase
Toby Courtauld 713 692 3%
Nick Sanderson 491 476 3%
Dan Nicholson 425 388 9.5%
1. Rounded to the nearest £1,000.
The Chief Executive and Chief Financial & Operating Officer have received an increase of 3% in line with the baseline increase
awarded to most employees and below the all-colleague average increase of 3.5% (inclusive of an allowance for promotions
and some benchmarking adjustments). Dan Nicholson has received a higher increase, as explained in the Committee Chair’s
letter on page 130. In reviewing the salaries of the Executive Directors, the Committee has also taken account of both the
individual’s and the Company’s performance and the employment conditions and salary increases awarded to employees
across the Group.
Pension and benefits
There have been no changes to the benefits and pension provision for the Executive Directors.
Bonus for the year ending 31 March 2026
The target and maximum annual bonus potentials will remain unchanged at 75% and 150% of salary respectively for the Executive
Directors. In line with the Policy, 40% of any annual bonus outcome will be deferred into shares for three years under the DSBP.
The 2025/26 scorecard measures will be consistent with those for 2024/25, except for the changes explained on page 130.
2025/26 Bonus weightings
Key elements
of strategy Measured by Weighting
Key elements
of strategy Measured by Weighting
Financial measures Non-financial measures
Market
performance
All
GPE Relative TAR 20% Transforming
the business
and putting
customers first
1
3 4 5 6
Development
programme milestones
7.5%
(previously 5%)
Optimising
financial
performance
1
2 3 4 5
Rent achieved on
market lettings vs ERV
10% Office customer NPS 5%
Vacancy rate 10% Delivering our
Roadmap to
Net Zero
1
4 5 6
Energy consumption 3.75%
(previously 5%)
Leasing capture 10%
(new)
Net zero developments 3.75%
(previously 5%)
Capital recycling 5%
(new) (replaces 10%
deployment of rights
issue proceeds measure)
Personal and
business culture
All
Personal objectives 10%
Fully Managed
P&L NOI
5%
(replaces 10% Fully
Managed annualised
NOI growth measure)
Positive and
inclusive culture
5%
Diversity targets 5%
Total 60% Total 40%
1
Denotes strategic priorities for 2025/26 as set out on pages 08 and 09.
The Committee is of the opinion that, given the commercial sensitivity around GPE’s business, disclosing precise targets for
the Annual Bonus Plan in advance would not be in the best interests of shareholders or the Company. Objectives, performance
achieved and awards made will be published in the relevant year’s Directors’ remuneration report at the end of the performance
period so shareholders can fully assess the basis for any payouts.
139Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
RSP awards for the year ending 31 March 2026
Performance measure over three years
Award as %
of base salary
Subject to underpins as described in full in the Policy 150%
The Committee envisages granting the 2025 RSP award at the normal level of 150% of base salary. The awards, granted in the
form of nil cost options, will be subject to the underpins set out in the Policy. Alongside the operation of a robust underpin, allowing
the Committee to reduce the vesting of awards in whatever circumstances it considers to be appropriate, the Committee will
also specifically consider reducing vesting levels in the event of a breach of the financial covenants of the Group’s principal
debt facilities; failure to make satisfactory progress in delivering our Sustainability Statement of Intent; or there being material
damage to the reputation of the Company. Following a three-year vesting period, the 2025 RSP awards will be subject to
a two-year holding period, whereby participants will not be permitted to exercise any performance-vested awards until the
fifth anniversary of the award date. The holding period will generally continue to operate post-cessation of employment.
Executive Director remuneration scenarios based on performance
The charts below set out the potential remuneration receivable by Executive Directors for minimum (where performance is
below threshold for variable awards), on-target and maximum performance. Potential reward opportunities are based on the
Policy and applied to salaries for the year ending 31 March 2026. It should be noted that the projected values exclude the impact
of any dividend accrual.
Directors’ remuneration report continued
Chief Executive £000
844844844
844
Fixed Annual bonus RSP
1,070
2,984
535
1,070
2,449
1,070
2,500
0
1,000
500
1,500
2,000
3,000
3,500
4,000
MaximumOn targetMinimum
844
1,605
3,519
1,070
Maximum with 50%
share price increase
Executive Director £000
2,500
0
1,000
500
1,500
2,000
3,500
3,000
4,000
Fixed Annual bonus RSP
Maximum with 50%
share price increase
503503503
503
638
1,779
319
319
1,141
638
503
957
2,098
638
MaximumOn targetMinimum
Chief Financial & Operating Officer £000
2,500
0
1,000
500
1,500
2,000
3,500
3,000
4,000
Fixed Annual bonus RSP
Maximum with 50%
share price increase
588588588
588
737
2,062
369
369
1,326
737
588
1,106
2,431
737
MaximumOn targetMinimum
140 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Chair and Non-Executive Directors’ remuneration
This section of the Report contains details of how the Policy for the Chair and Non-Executive Directors was implemented in 2024/25
and how it will be applied for the forthcoming year.
Single figure table annual fees for year ended 31 March 2025*
Name
Fees (£000) Benefits (£000) Totals (£000)
2025 2024 2025 2024 2025 2024
Richard Mully 261 256 2
1
2
1
263 258
Mark Anderson 76 75 – – 76 75
Karen Green
2
76 25 1
1
– 77 25
Nick Hampton 86 85 – – 86 85
Vicky Jarman 84 82 – – 84 82
Champa Magesh 76 75 2
1
2
1
78 77
Emma Woods 84 82 – – 84 82
Total 743 680 5 4 748 684
1. Richard Mully, Karen Green and Champa Magesh’s benefits related to reimbursed travel (and related tax) for GPE meetings.
2. Karen Green joined the Board on 1 December 2023 and her fees for the year ended 31 March 2024 are pro-rated accordingly.
Shareholdings*
The beneficial holdings of Non-Executive Directors and their connected persons are set out below. The figures reflect the position
at the stated dates or date of appointment if later/date of retirement if earlier.
31 March 2025 31 March 2024
Richard Mully 110,000 60,000
Mark Anderson 12,721 2,451
Karen Green 5,939 –
Nick Hampton 4,000 2,500
Vicky Jarman 4,332 2,708
Champa Magesh 13,515 –
Emma Woods 8,400 –
There were no changes in the shareholdings of the Chair and Non-Executive Directors in office between 1 April 2025 and 20 May 2025.
Annual fees for year ending 31 March 2026
The table below sets out the annual fee for the Chair of the Board and Non-Executive Directors.
William Eccleshare joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director and Chair Designate on 1 May 2025 on the standard Non-Executive
Director fee arrangements. William will succeed Richard Mully as Chair from the conclusion of the 2025 AGM from which time his
annual Chair fee for the year (pro-rated for his period of service) will be £261,100, being the same as Richard Mully’s Chair fee which
was not increased for the year ending 31 March 2026.
The base fees of the Non-Executive Directors have been increased by 3% in line with the baseline increase awarded to most
employees and below the all-colleague average increase of 3.5% (inclusive of an allowance for promotions and some benchmarking
adjustments). Fee levels for the Chair and Non-Executive Directors are assessed having regard to individual responsibility and
fees paid to Non-Executive Directors in the wider FTSE 250.
From
1 April 2025
(per annum)
£
1 April 2024 to
31 March 2025
(per annum)
£
Chair fee 261,100 261,100
Non-Executive Director base fee 64,600 62,700
Senior Independent Director fee 10,000 10,000
Audit or Remuneration Committee Chair 12,500 12,500
Audit or Remuneration Committee member 5,000 5,000
Nomination Committee member 3,350 3,350
141Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Directors’ remuneration report continued
Other disclosures
Percentage change in Board remuneration vs Group employees
The table below shows the percentage change in remuneration/fees for the five years ended 31 March 2021 to 31 March 2025
for each of the Directors who served during the year ended 31 March 2025 (including salary, taxable benefits and annual bonus)
compared to that for an average Group employee (noting that the Group has been used rather than parent company on the
basis that there are no Company employees).
Name
Base salary/fees Taxable benefits
9
Bonus
10
Change Change Change
Year 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 24/25 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 24/25 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 24/25
Average
employee
1
+5.1% +3.2% +6.2% +6.6% +3.1% +4.1% -20.1% -0.3% +15.2% +3.9% -17.5% +71.3% +13.5% +12.4% -0.8%
Executive
Directors
Toby
Courtauld +1.5% +1.5% +3.5% +5.0% +1.9% -3.6% -38.5% 0% +12.5% +11.1% -20.6% +139.5% +19.5% +3.7% +3.8%
Nick
Sanderson +1.5% +1.5% +3.5% +5.0% +1.9% -22.7% -12.5% +18.6% +5.6% 0% -15.7% +125.5% +20.9% +2.3% +2.9%
Dan
Nicholson
2
n/a n/a +80.1% +5.0% +2.1% n/a n/a +100% +33.3% +25.0% n/a n/a +155.6% +5.2% +3.6%
Non-Executive
Directors
Richard
Mully (Chair) -5.0% 0% +3.8% +4.9% +2.0% -10 0% +100% +100% 0% 0% n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Mark
Anderson
3
n/a n/a +75.6% +4.2% +1.3% n/a n/a – – – n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Karen
Green
4
n/a n/a n/a n/a +204% n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Nick
Hampton
5,6
-4.2% 0% -1.3% +14.9% +1.2% -10 0% – – – – n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Vicky
Jarman
6
-2.9% 0% +10.0% +6.5% +2.4% – – – – – n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Champa
Magesh
7
n/a n/a n/a +56.3% +1.3% n/a n/a n/a +100% 0% n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Emma
Woods
8
n/a n/a +541.7% +6.5% +2.4% n/a n/a – – – n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
1. Based on all employees who were employed for the full consecutive financial years being compared. Average employee pay has been calculated
on a full-time equivalent basis.
2. Dan Nicholson joined the Board on 21 September 2021. His remuneration in 2021/22 is pro-rated to reflect this period of service, whereas his remuneration
from 2022/23 was for a full year’s service, explaining his large percentage increase over the two years.
3. Mark Anderson joined the Board on 1 September 2021. His remuneration in 2021/22 is pro-rated to reflect this period of service, whereas his remuneration
from 2022/23 was for a full year’s service, explaining his large percentage increase over the two years.
4. Karen Green joined the Board on 1 December 2023. Her remuneration in 2023/24 is pro-rated to reflect this period of service, whereas her remuneration
from 2024/25 was for a full year’s service, explaining her large percentage increase over the two years.
5. Nick Hampton became Senior Independent Director on 30 March 2023.
6. Vicky Jarman succeeded Nick Hampton as Chair of the Audit Committee from 7 July 2022.
7. Champa Magesh joined the Board on 1 August 2022. Her remuneration in 2022/23 is pro-rated to reflect this period of service, whereas her remuneration
from 2023/24 was for a full year’s service, explaining her large percentage increase over the two years.
8. Emma Woods joined the Board on 1 February 2022 and became Chair of the Remuneration Committee from 7 July 2022. Her remuneration in 2021/22 is
pro-rated to reflect this period of service, whereas her remuneration from 2022/23 was for a full year’s service, explaining her large percentage increase
over the two years.
9. Taxable benefits from 31 March 2023, in line with the single figure tables on pages 132 and 141, have been updated to include: private medical insurance,
membership subscriptions, travel expenses, luncheon vouchers, Employee Assistance Programme and entertainment. Prior years included death
in service, life assurance and permanent health insurance which are not taxable benefits in line with HMRC guidelines.
10. While a common corporate scorecard applies to all employees, the two additional measures for Executive Directors and senior executives (namely the
maintaining and nurturing a positive and inclusive culture measure and the diversity measure – see page 133), together with a lower weighting on personal
objectives, result in different weightings versus most of the wider employee population. The different components of the bonus impact the outturns and
are reflected in the percentage changes.
142 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Ten-year Chief Executive remuneration package
The table below shows the Chief Executive’s (Toby Courtauld throughout) remuneration package over the past ten years,
together with incentive payout/vesting as compared to the maximum opportunity.
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Single figure of total remuneration (£000) 2,650 1,420 1,174 905 1,599 984 1,425 1,417 1,456 1,498
Bonus payout (as % of
maximum opportunity) 100% 20% 37% 19% 31% 23.9% 56.3% 65% 64.2% 65.3%
Long-term incentive vesting rates
(as % of maximum opportunity) 58% 33% 10% 0% 28.8% 0% 7.4% 0% 0%
1
0%
2
1. This reflects the actual LTIP performance outcome of 0% as referred to in the single figure table on page 132. The figure provided in the 2024 Annual Report
of 0%, was disclosed on an estimated basis.
2. Based on estimated performance as at 20 May 2025.
TSR performance
The following graph shows the TSR for the Company for each of the last ten financial years compared to the FTSE 350 Real Estate
Index (excluding agencies). The Company is a constituent of the FTSE 350 Real Estate Index and the Committee considers this
benchmark to be the most appropriate for illustrating the Company’s performance.
TSR over ten years (indexed)
31 March
2015
31 March
2016
31 March
2017
31 March
2018
31 March
2019
31 March
2020
31 March
2021
31 March
2025
31 March
2024
31 March
2023
31 March
2022
Great Portland Estates plc
Source: Refinitiv Datastream.
FTSE 350 Real Estate – Sector (Excluding Agencies)
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
CEO pay ratio
Although the Company has fewer than 250 employees and is not, therefore, subject to any legal requirement to include
such ratios, the Committee considers inclusion of the ratio to be reflective of best practice and includes this on a voluntary
basis. The Committee notes the general preference of institutional shareholders for companies to use statutory Method A
and prepared the calculations on that basis. However, for a company with a relatively small number of employees (152 as
at 31 March 2025), the ratios can be unduly impacted by joiners and leavers who may not participate in the full suite of
remuneration arrangements in the year of joining or leaving. Accordingly, the Committee modified the statutory basis to
exclude any employee not employed throughout the financial year. In all other respects, Method A was followed, so the
following tables refer to modified Method A being adopted.
The Company believes that a bias towards variable pay for senior executives is the most appropriate means of both
incentivising the senior executives and aligning them with shareholders. The ratios will therefore fluctuate according
to variable pay outcomes each year.
143Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Directors’ remuneration report continued
Ratio of the pay of the Chief Executive to that of the UK lower quartile, median and upper quartile employees
Year Method
Pay ratio
25th percentile 50th percentile (median) 75th percentile
31 March 2025 Modified Method A 17.4 :1 12.4:1 6.5:1
31 March 2024 Modified Method A 17. 3:1 12.1:1 6.5:1
31 March 2023 Modified Method A 18.0:1 12.6:1 6.7:1
31 March 2022 Modified Method A 19.9:1 15.4:1 7. 2 :1
31 March 2021 Modified Method A 15.1:1 11.2:1 5.8:1
31 March 2020 Modified Method A 24.1:1 18.2:1 8.7:1
Additional information on the ratio of the pay of the Chief Executive to that of employees
– Employee pay data is based on full-time equivalent pay for UK employees as at 31 March 2025. For each employee,
total pay is calculated in line with the single figure methodology (i.e. fixed pay accrued during the financial year
and the value of performance-based incentive awards vesting in relation to the performance year).
– Employee pay data excludes leavers and joiners to help ensure data is on a like-for-like basis. No other calculation
adjustments or assumptions have been made.
– Chief Executive pay is as per the single total figure of remuneration for 2025, as disclosed on page 132.
– The 2025 ratio will be re-stated in the 2026 Directors’ remuneration report (if required) to take account of the final
LTIP vesting data for eligible employees and for the Chief Executive.
The Committee has considered the pay data for the three individuals identified for 2025 and believes that it fairly reflects
pay at the relevant quartiles among the UK employee population. Each of the individuals identified was a full-time employee
during the year and received remuneration in line with the Policy. The Company employs a highly skilled and experienced
workforce which leads to a narrower CEO ratio than at many other listed companies with a different employee base. The ratios
reflect this and are felt appropriate in this context. This year, there was no LTIP vesting and, in a year in which the LTIP (or RSP)
did vest, the ratio would widen given the greater focus on variable pay for more senior levels.
Salary and total remuneration used to calculate the pay ratio
Chief Executive
£000
25th percentile
£000
50th percentile (median)
£000
75th percentile
£000
Total salary 692 61 80 146
Total remuneration (single figure) 1,498 86 121 229
Employee Share Trust
Upon the vesting of share awards, shares used to satisfy awards under the LTIP, RSP and DSBP are transferred out of the Great
Portland Estates plc LTIP Employee Share Trust (the Trust), a discretionary trust established to facilitate the operation of the
Company’s share plans. The shares to satisfy vested awards have been purchased by the Trustees of the Trust in the open market.
The number of shares held by the Trust as at 31 March 2025 was 2,855,501 (2024: 887,159).
Dilution
The Company currently funds the Trustees to purchase all of the shares required to satisfy awards under the Company’s share
plans. No shares have been issued to satisfy any grants made in the last ten years. However, if the Company decided to issue
new shares to meet these awards, the Company would operate all of its share incentive arrangements within The Investment
Association (IA) Guidelines on dilution. The following table sets out the level of dilution against the IA limits for all share plans
and discretionary plans in respect of the outstanding awards should the Company issue shares rather than use purchased
shares held in Trust.
Maximum As at 31 March 2025
1
10% dilution in ten years (all plans) 1.35%
5% dilution in ten years (discretionary plans) 1.29%
1. This figure shows the number of shares required to satisfy all outstanding awards as at 31 March 2025 as a percentage of the Company’s issued share
capital were these to be satisfied by the issue of new shares. This does not include vested awards that have been satisfied using market purchased shares.
144 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Relative importance of spend on pay
The below sets out the relative importance of spend on pay in 2024 and 2025:
Relative importance of spend on pay £m
Overall spend on pay Overall spend on dividend
2024 20252024 2025
-1.4%
32.7
32.3
-0.3%
31.9
31.8
35
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Committee advisers
The Committee was advised during the year by FIT Remuneration Consultants LLP (FIT Rem) as independent remuneration
consultants. FIT Rem, which was appointed by the Committee in August 2014 following a review of advisers, attends Committee
meetings and provides advice on remuneration for the Executive Directors, analysis on all elements of the Directors’
remuneration policy and regular market and best practice updates.
FIT Rem reports directly to the Committee and does not provide any other services to the Company.
The Committee is satisfied that the advice received from FIT Rem is independent and objective as FIT Rem complies with
the Code of Conduct for Remuneration Consultants (which can be found at www.remunerationconsultantsgroup.com)
and provides no other advice to the Group. FIT Rem’s fees for the year to 31 March 2025 were £86,833 (2024: £68,127.50)
which were charged on the basis of the time spent advising the Company.
Independent and objective performance certificates are provided to the Committee by Aon Hewitt on measurement of TSR
performance targets for the LTIP. Fees paid to Aon Hewitt in respect of this were £6,750. Aon Hewitt also provides gender pay
gap assistance and salary benchmarking to the Group and fees paid in relation to these totalled £17,000 and £3,850 respectively.
Payments for loss of office/payments to former Directors*
No Directors received termination payouts or payments for loss of office in respect of the year and no former Director
received any payments.
Statement of voting at the AGMs
The following table shows the results of:
– the advisory vote on the Directors’ remuneration report at the 2024 AGM; and
– the binding vote on the Directors’ remuneration policy commencing from the 2023 AGM.
For Against Abstentions
2024 Directors’ remuneration report 298,379,479 (95.09%) 15,416,000 (4.91%) 246,621
2023 Directors’ remuneration policy 189,336,232 (92.56%) 15,228,255 (7.44%) 3,186
Consideration of shareholder views
When determining remuneration, the Committee takes into account the guidelines of investor bodies and shareholder views. It is the
Committee’s policy to consult with major shareholders prior to any major changes to its Executive remuneration and it will do so again
during the coming year ahead of proposing any revisions to the Directors’ remuneration policy in 2026. The existing Policy was subject
to thorough consultation with our major shareholders and the main proxy voting advisers ahead of being approved by shareholders
at the 2023 AGM.
Service contracts and letters of appointment*
In line with our Policy, all Executive Directors have service contracts which are terminable by either party with 12 months’ notice.
The Chair of the Board and Non-Executive Directors are subject to letters of appointment and have a notice period of three
months by either party and are not eligible for payment in lieu of notice or any other payment on termination. All Directors are
required to be elected/re-elected at each AGM.
This Report will be submitted to shareholders for approval at the 2025 AGM.
Approved by the Board on 20 May 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
Emma Woods
Chair of the Remuneration Committee
20 May 2025
145
Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Report of the Directors
Strategic Report
The Group’s Strategic Report on pages 01 to 93 includes
the Company’s business model and strategy, the principal
risks and uncertainties facing the Group and how these
are managed and mitigated, an indication of likely future
developments in the Company and details of important
events since the year ended 31 March 2025.
The purpose of the Annual Report is to provide information
to the members of the Company, as a body. The Company,
its Directors, employees, agents or advisers do not accept
or assume responsibility to any other person to whom this
document is shown or into whose hands it may come and
any such responsibility or liability is expressly disclaimed.
The Annual Report contains certain forward-looking
statements with respect to the operations, performance
and financial condition of the Group. By their nature,
these statements involve uncertainty since future events
and circumstances can cause results and developments
to differ from those anticipated. The forward-looking
statements reflect knowledge and information available
at the date of preparation of this Annual Report.
Nothing in this Annual Report should be construed
as a profit forecast.
Results and dividends for the year
The Group’s results for the year are set out on pages 152 to 182.
An interim dividend of 2.9 pence per share (2024: 4.7 pence) was
paid on 3 January 2025, and the Directors propose to pay a final
dividend of 5.0 pence per share on 7 July 2025 to shareholders
on the register of members as at the close of business on
30 May 2025. This makes a total dividend of 7.9 pence per
share (2024: 12.6 pence) for the year ended 31 March 2025.
The total dividend is consistent with the prior year on a
cash basis (at £31.9 million), albeit lower on a per share basis
following the increase in the Company’s issued share capital
as a result of its rights issue which completed in June 2024.
Directors
Biographical details of the current Directors of the
Company are shown on pages 100 and 101. Nick Hampton
also served as a Director throughout the year under review,
stepping down from the Board on 3 April 2025.
In accordance with the UK Corporate Governance Code,
all the current Directors will retire, and those who wish
to continue to serve will offer themselves for election
or re-election at the forthcoming AGM.
Directors’ shareholdings
The interests of the Directors of the Company (and of their
connected persons) in the shares of the Company, which
have been notified to the Company in accordance with
the UK Market Abuse Regulation, are set out in the Directors’
remuneration report on pages 138 and 141. The Directors’
remuneration report also sets out details of any changes
in those interests between 31 March 2025 and 20 May 2025.
Directors’ indemnities and insurance
On 14 September 2007, an indemnity was given by the
Company to the Directors in terms which comply with
company law. The indemnity was in force during the
year and remains in force at the date of this Report
of the Directors.
The Company maintains directors’ and officers’ liability
insurance and pension trustee liability insurance, both
of which are reviewed annually.
Directors’ powers
The powers of the Directors are contained in the
Company’s Articles of Association. These include powers,
subject to relevant legislation, to authorise the issue
and buyback of the Company’s shares by the Company,
subject to authority being given to the Directors by the
shareholders in a general meeting.
Appointment and replacement of Directors
The rules about the appointment and replacement
of Directors are contained in the Company’s Articles
of Association. Under the Articles of Association, every
Director who held office on the date seven days before
the date of notice of the AGM shall retire from office.
A retiring Director shall be eligible for re-election at
the AGM, and a Director who is re-elected will be treated
as continuing in office without a break. This is in line with
the UK Corporate Governance Code, which recommends
that all Directors should be subject to annual re-election.
Changes to the Articles of Association must be approved
by the Company’s shareholders in accordance with
legislation in force from time to time.
Corporate governance statement
The information fulfilling the requirements of the
corporate governance statement can be found in this
Report of the Directors and on pages 94 to 145, all of
which are incorporated into this Report of the Directors
by reference.
Political donations
It is the Company’s policy not to make political donations
or undertake any activities incurring political expenditure.
2025 AGM
Details of the Company’s AGM can be found in the
Notice of AGM 2025, which will be made available on
the Company’s website at www.gpe.co.uk/investors/
shareholder-information/agmgm
146 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Additional disclosures
Disclosures required by Schedule 7, Large and Medium-sized
Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations
2008 (as amended), to the extent not already disclosed
or referred to in this Report of the Directors, can be found
on the following pages, all of which are incorporated into
this Report of the Directors by reference:
Page/s
Financial instruments 158, 175 to 178
Greenhouse gas emissions,
energy consumption and
energy efficiency action
39 to 66
Engagement with suppliers,
customers and others
42 to 45, 50 to 53, 66,
73 to 77, 106 to 109, 148
Research and development 8, 13, 14, 25, 26, 29,
40 to 45, 66, 73, 75
Disclosures required by the Financial Conduct Authority’s UK
Listing Rule 6.6.1R can be found on the following pages:
Page/s
Capitalised interest 33, 162 and 164
Waiver of dividends 147
The Directors’ responsibilities statement is on page 150 and
is incorporated into this Report of the Directors by reference.
The ‘Other information’ found on pages 197 to 204 is also
incorporated into this Report of the Directors by reference.
Significant shareholdings
As at 31 March 2025, the Company had been notified, in
accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority’s Disclosure
Guidance and Transparency Rules (DTR 5), of the following
interests in the voting rights in its ordinary share capital:
Investor
1
Number of
voting rights
2
%
2
Nature of
holding
2
Norges Bank
Investment
Management
40,320,050 9.93 Direct
BlackRock, Inc. 69,062,818
19,620,209
12.17
4.83
Indirect
Financial
instruments
KKR Investment
Management LLC
18,568,821 4.57 Indirect
1. During the year, the Company was notified by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
that its holding had fallen to 4.46%, which is understood to be below its
lowest notifiable threshold under DTR 5. It is understood that T. Rowe
no longer holds significant voting rights in the Company.
2. As at date of notification.
In the period from 31 March 2025 to 20 May 2025, the
Company received a further notification from BlackRock Inc.
disclosing that its interests in voting rights in the Company
through indirect holdings had increased to 13.04% and through
holdings of financial instruments had decreased to 4.18%.
Information provided to the Company under the Financial
Conduct Authority’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency
Rules is publicly available via the regulatory information
service and on the Company’s website.
Share capital and control
As at 31 March 2025, the issued share capital of the
Company was 406,188,658 (2024: 253,867,911) ordinary
shares of 15
5
/
19
pence each, all fully paid up and listed on
the London Stock Exchange. The total issued share capital
was enlarged during the year by the Company’s 3 for 5
rights issue which completed on 12 June 2024.
At the 2024 AGM, shareholders authorised the Company
to make market purchases of up to 60,887,679 ordinary
shares of 15
5
/
19
pence each, representing 14.99% of the
issued share capital of the Company following the completion
of the rights issue (which was shortly before last year’s AGM),
such authority to expire at the earlier of the conclusion of
the 2025 AGM or 1 October 2025. No shares were purchased
under that authority during the financial year. The Company
is seeking to renew the authority at the forthcoming AGM,
within the limits set out in the Company’s Notice of AGM 2025.
There are no restrictions on transfer or limitations on the
holding of the ordinary shares. None of the shares carry any
special rights with regard to the control of the Company.
There are no known arrangements under which financial
rights are held by a person other than the holder of the
shares and no known agreements on restrictions on share
transfers and voting rights. The Great Portland Estates
plc LTIP Employee Share Trust (the Trust) is an employee
share scheme which holds ordinary shares in the Company
on trust for the benefit of employees within the Group.
The Trustee of the Trust has the power to exercise all the
rights and powers (including rights with regard to control of
the Company) incidental to, and to generally act in relation
to, the ordinary shares subject to the Trust in such manner
as the Trustee in its absolute discretion thinks fit as if it were
absolutely entitled to those ordinary shares. The Trustee
has waived the right to receive dividends on the shares
held in the Company.
Change of control
The Company has a number of unsecured borrowing facilities
provided by various lenders. These facilities generally include
provisions that may require any outstanding borrowings
to be repaid or the alteration or termination of the facilities
upon the occurrence of a change of control of the Company.
The Company’s Long Term Incentive Plan, Deferred Share
Bonus Plan, Restricted Share Plan and Annual Bonus Plan
contain provisions relating to the vesting of awards in
the event of a change of control.
147Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Report of the Directors continued
Human rights, supplier stewardship,
anti-corruption and anti-bribery matters
We aspire to the highest standards of conduct based
on honesty and transparency in everything we do.
Our Executive Committee has a high level of oversight
over the Group’s day-to-day policies and procedures
and carries out regular reviews of the appointment
of contractors, consultants and suppliers.
We support the principles of the UN Declaration of
Human Rights and core conventions of the International
Labour Organization. Our expectations on human rights
are set out across a number of our policies and procedures
as we seek to avoid causing or contributing to adverse
human rights impacts through our activities. In our business
relationships, we look to demonstrate a commitment to
fundamental human rights through our own behaviours
and look to engage suppliers whose values and business
principles are consistent with our own. Whilst we require
all our suppliers to comply with standards and codes
that may be specific to their industry, our Supplier Code
of Conduct also sets out the additional standards that
we require of our suppliers in this regard. GPE team
members regularly meet with main contractors to share
information on industry best practice, including in relation
to human rights, modern slavery, health and safety and
responsible sourcing.
In September 2024, we published our latest Modern Slavery
Act Statement, which can be found at www.gpe.co.uk/our-
modern-slavery-statement, setting out the steps we have
taken over the past year, and intend to take over the next
12 months, to ensure our suppliers and their supply chains
adopt similar standards to our own to prevent slavery and
human trafficking taking place within our supply chain.
Formal policies in place in relation to human rights,
anti-bribery and corruption, fraud and sanctions matters
include our overarching Financial Crime Policy, together
with our Ethics, Gifts and Hospitality, Whistleblowing,
Use of GPE Suppliers, Conflicts of Interest and our Inside
Information and Share Dealing Policies. All new employees
receive training on these policies as part of their induction
process. A formal compliance statement relating to
these policies is required to be signed off by employees
annually, with any matters of concern reported to the Audit
Committee. There were no significant matters to report
to the Audit Committee in relation to these policies in
the year ended 31 March 2025. The Audit Committee also
reviews our Financial Crime, Ethics, Gifts and Hospitality
and Whistleblowing Policies annually. Our policies can be
found at www.gpe.co.uk/about-us/governance
Whilst we consider our industry to be relatively low risk
with regard to money laundering, we also have a formal
Anti-Money Laundering Policy in place and specific
training is provided to employees as appropriate.
Directors’ conflicts of interest
The Company’s Articles of Association allow the Board
to authorise potential conflicts of interest that may arise
and to impose such limits or conditions as it thinks fit.
The Company has established a procedure whereby any
actual or potential conflicts of interest that may arise must
be authorised by the Board, maintained on a register and
periodically reviewed, with Directors required to update
the Board with any changes to the nature of any conflicts
disclosed. A Director who has a conflict of interest is not
counted in the quorum or entitled to vote when the Board
considers the matter in which the Director has an interest
and the Director may be excluded from the meeting where
appropriate. The Board considers these procedures to be
working effectively.
Going concern
The Group’s business activities, together with the factors
affecting its operating environment are set out in the Strategic
Report on pages 01 to 93. Details of the finances of the Group,
including its strong liquidity position, attractively priced
borrowing facilities and favourable debt maturity profile,
are set out in Our financial results on pages 32 to 35 including
Our capital strength on page 33 and in notes 16, 17 and 22
of the financial statements on pages 174 to 179.
The Directors have reviewed the current and projected financial
position of the Group, making reasonable assumptions about
future trading performance, with particular focus on macro-
economic conditions in which the Group is operating, including
weak UK growth, ongoing macro-economic uncertainty,
geopolitical tensions and elevated interest rates. This included
a severe but plausible downside scenario to consider the
impact of market disruption on the Group’s cash balances,
its capital commitments, its debt maturity profile, including
undrawn facilities and the long-term nature of customer leases.
The Directors also conducted extensive stress testing, including
sensitising significant increases in the cost of development
to meet sustainability requirements as detailed further in the
viability statement. Further information on the assumptions
contained in the severe but plausible downside scenario is on
page 156. On the basis of this review, and after making due
enquiries, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the
Company and the Group have adequate resources to continue
in operational existence for a period of at least 12 months from
the date of approval of the financial statements. Accordingly,
they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing
the Annual Report and financial statements.
148 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Viability statement
The Company’s viability statement is on page 79.
Statement as to disclosure of information
to the auditor
So far as the Directors who held office at the date
of approval of this Report of the Directors are aware,
there is no relevant audit information of which the auditor
is unaware and each Director has taken all steps that he
or she ought to have taken as a Director to make himself
or herself aware of any relevant audit information and
to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.
This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in
accordance with the provisions of section 418 of the
Companies Act 2006.
By order of the Board
Darren Lennark
General Counsel & Company Secretary
Great Portland Estates plc
Company number: 596137
20 May 2025
149
Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Governance
Directors’ responsibilities statement
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report
and the financial statements in accordance with applicable
law and regulation.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial
statements for each financial year. Under that law the Directors
have prepared the Group financial statements in accordance
with UK-adopted international accounting standards and
the Company financial statements in accordance with
United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice
(United Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 101
‘Reduced Disclosure Framework’, and applicable law).
Under company law, the Directors must not approve the financial
statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and
fair view of the state of affairs of the Group and Company and
of the profit or loss of the Group for that period. In preparing
the financial statements, the Directors are required to:
– select suitable accounting policies and then apply
them consistently;
– state whether applicable UK-adopted international
accounting standards have been followed for the Group
financial statements and United Kingdom Accounting
Standards, comprising FRS 101 have been followed
for the Company financial statements, subject to any
material departures disclosed and explained in the
financial statements;
– make judgements and accounting estimates that are
reasonable and prudent; and
– prepare the financial statements on the going concern
basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Group
and Company will continue in business.
The Directors are responsible for safeguarding the assets
of the Group and Company and hence for taking reasonable
steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and
other irregularities.
The Directors are also responsible for keeping adequate
accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain
the Group’s and Company’s transactions and disclose with
reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position
of the Group and Company and enable them to ensure that
the financial statements and the Directors’ remuneration
report comply with the Companies Act 2006.
The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity
of the Company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom
governing the preparation and dissemination of financial
statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Directors’ confirmations
The Directors consider that the Annual Report and accounts,
taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and understandable and
provides the information necessary for shareholders to
assess the Group’s and Company’s position, performance,
business model and strategy.
Each of the Directors, whose names and functions are listed on
pages 100 and 101 confirm that, to the best of their knowledge:
– the Group financial statements, which have been prepared
in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting
standards, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities,
financial position and loss of the Group;
– the Company financial statements, which have been
prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Accounting
Standards, comprising FRS 101, give a true and fair view
of the assets, liabilities and financial position of the
Company; and
– the Strategic Report includes a fair review of the
development and performance of the business and the
position of the Group and Company, together with a
description of the principal risks and uncertainties that
it faces.
This responsibility statement was approved by the Board
of Directors and is signed on its behalf by:
Toby Courtauld Nick Sanderson
Chief Executive Chief Financial & Operating Officer
20 May 2025 20 May 2025
150
Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
In this section:
152 Group income statement
152 Group statement of comprehensive income
153 Group balance sheet
154 Group statement of cash flows
155 Group statement of changes in equity
156 Notes forming part of the
Group financial statements
183 Independent auditor’s report
191 Company balance sheet
192 Company statement of changes in equity
193 Notes forming part of the
Company financial statements
Financial
statements
NEW
ACQUISITION
Whittington House, WC1
Bought in November 2024,
this striking building will
be refurbished to create
new prime HQ offices.
151Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes
2025 2024
£m£m
Revenue
3
94.2
95.4
Cost of sales
4
(35.1)
(33.3)
59.1
62.1
Administration expenses
5
(40.0)
(42.3)
Other income
0.6
–
Expected credit losses
(0.2)
(0.1)
Operating profit before surplus/(deficit) from investment property,
revaluation movements and results of joint ventures
19.5
19.7
Surplus/(deficit) from investment property
10
83.2
(267.3)
Deficit on revaluation of other investments
13
(0.4)
(0.2)
Share of results of joint ventures
11
21.8
(46.7)
Operating profit/(loss)
124.1
(294.5)
Finance income
6
7.2
6.1
Finance costs
7
(13.1)
(17.7)
Fair value loss on derivatives
17
(0.4)
(1.7)
Profit/(loss) before tax
117.8
(307.8)
Tax
8
(1.8)
–
Profit/(loss) for the year
116.0
(307.8)
Basic earnings/(loss) per share
1
9
30.2p
(101.4p)
Diluted earnings/(loss) per share
1
9
30.1p
(101.4p)
Basic EPRA earnings per share
1
9
5.3p
5.9p
Diluted EPRA earnings per share
1
9
5.2p
5.9p
1. Previous year per share metrics adjusted for the June 2024 rights issue.
All results are derived from continuing operations in the UK and are attributable to ordinary equity holders.
Group statement of comprehensive income
For the year ended 31 March 2025
2025 2024
Notes£m£m
Profit/(loss) for the year
116.0
(307.8)
Items that will not be reclassified subsequently to profit and loss
Actuarial (loss)/gain on defined benefit scheme
26
(0.8)
0.1
Deferred tax on actuarial (loss)/gain on defined benefit scheme
8
0.2
–
Total comprehensive income/(expense) for the year
115.4
(307.7)
Group income statement
For the year ended 31 March 2025
152 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
2025 2024
Notes£m£m
Non-current assets
Investment property
10
2,455.5
1,911.0
Investment in joint ventures
11
507.2
491.3
Property, plant and equipment
12
0.9
2.0
Pension asset
26
4.8
4.9
Derivative financial instruments
17
–
0.4
Other investments
13
2.8
2.4
2,971.2
2,412.0
Current assets
Trade and other receivables
14
20.7
24.9
Cash and cash equivalents
22
36.9
22.9
57.6
47.8
Current assets held for sale
Investment property held for sale
10
–
18.2
–
18.2
Total assets
3,028.8
2,478.0
Current liabilities
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
16
–
(175.0)
Trade and other payables
15
(85.5)
(76.2)
Corporation tax
8
(2.6)
(0.3)
(88.1)
(251.5)
Non-current liabilities
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
16
(848.0)
(565.4)
Head lease obligations
18
(87.0)
(74.1)
Occupational lease obligations
19
–
(1.0)
Deferred consideration
(2.0)
–
Provisions in respect of warranties on sold buildings
(3.0)
(3.0)
(940.0)
(643.5)
Total liabilities
(1,028.1)
(895.0)
Net assets
2,000.7
1,583.0
Equity
Share capital
20
62.0
38.7
Share premium account
358.3
46.0
Capital redemption reserve
326.7
326.7
Retained earnings
1,251.9
1,166.0
Investment in own shares
21
1.8
5.6
Total equity
2,000.7
1,583.0
Basic net assets per share (diluted)
1
9
494p
520p
EPRA NTA (diluted)
1
9
494p
520p
Pro forma net assets per share
1
n/a
473p
1. Previous year per share metrics adjusted for the June 2024 rights issue.
Approved by the Board on 20 May 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
Toby Courtauld Nick Sanderson
Chief Executive Chief Financial & Operating Officer
Group balance sheet
At 31 March 2025
153Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes
2025 2024
£m£m
Operating activities
Operating profit/(loss)
124.1
(294.5)
Adjustments for non-cash items
23
(98.4)
313.4
Decrease/(Increase) in receivables
3.8
(8.6)
Increase in payables
6.2
4.1
Cash generated from operations
35.7
14.4
Interest paid
(40.9)
(22.3)
Interest received
1.5
0.3
Tax paid
(0.3)
–
Cash flows used in operating activities
(4.0)
(7.6)
Investing activities
Repayment of loans by joint ventures
11.6
6.7
Investment in joint ventures
–
(0.1)
Purchase of other investments
(0.8)
(0.8)
Development of investment property
(247.5)
(121.7)
Purchase of investment property
(147.3)
(128.3)
Purchase of plant and equipment
(0.6)
(0.1)
Sale of properties
–
12.6
Cash flows used in investing activities
(384.6)
(231.7)
Financing activities
£450 million revolving credit facility repaid
16
(339.0)
(275.4)
£450 million revolving credit facility drawn
16
442.0
308.4
£150 million revolving credit facility repaid
16
(2.0)
–
£150 million revolving credit facility drawn
16
108.3
–
Term loan (repaid)/drawn
16
(175.0)
248.0
Purchase of derivative
17
–
(2.1)
Private placement notes repaid
(175.0)
–
Issue of sustainable sterling bond
246.2
–
Proceeds from rights issue
350.3
–
Transaction costs of rights issue
(14.7)
–
Purchase of own shares
(5.7)
–
Payment of lease obligations
(1.0)
(3.4)
Dividends paid
24
(31.8)
(32.7)
Cash flows generated from financing activities
402.6
242.8
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
14.0
3.5
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April
22.9
19.4
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March
22
36.9
22.9
Group statement of cash flows
For the year ended 31 March 2025
154 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Notes
Share Capital Investment
Share premium redemption Retained in own Total
capital account reserve earnings shares equity
£m£m£m£m£m£m
Total equity at 1 April 2023
38.7
46.0
326.7
1,504.4
2.8
1,918.6
Loss for the year
–
–
–
(307.8)
–
(307.8)
Actuarial gain on defined benefit scheme
26
–
–
–
0.1
–
0.1
Deferred tax on defined benefit scheme
–
–
–
–
–
–
Total comprehensive expense for the year
–
–
–
(307.7)
–
(307.7)
Employee incentive plan charges
21
–
–
–
–
4.0
4.0
Dividends to shareholders
24
–
–
–
(31.9)
–
(31.9)
Transfer to retained earnings
21
–
–
–
1.2
(1.2)
–
Total equity at 31 March 2024
38.7
46.0
326.7
1,166.0
5.6
1,583.0
Group statement of changes in equity
For the year ended 31 March 2025
Notes
Share Capital Investment
Share premium redemption Retained in own Total
capital account reserve earnings shares equity
£m£m£m£m£m£m
Total equity at 1 April 2024
38.7
46.0
326.7
1,166.0
5.6
1,583.0
Profit for the year
–
–
–
116.0
–
116.0
Actuarial loss on defined benefit scheme
26
–
–
–
(0.8)
–
(0.8)
Deferred tax on defined benefit scheme
–
–
–
0.2
–
0.2
Total comprehensive income for the year
–
–
–
115.4
–
115.4
Proceeds from three for five rights issue
23.3
327.0
–
–
–
350.3
Costs of issue
–
(14.7)
–
–
–
(14.7)
Employee share-based incentive charge
21
–
–
–
–
4.2
4.2
Purchase of own shares
21
–
–
–
–
(5.7)
(5.7)
Dividends to shareholders
24
–
–
–
(31.8)
–
(31.8)
Transfer to retained earnings
21
–
–
–
2.3
(2.3)
–
Total equity at 31 March 2025
62.0
358.3
326.7
1,251.9
1.8
2,000.7
Group statement of changes in equity
For the year ended 31 March 2024
155Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements
1 Material accounting policies
Basis of preparation
Great Portland Estates plc is a public company limited by
shares incorporated and domiciled in the United Kingdom
(England and Wales). The address of the registered office
is given on page 204. The financial statements have been
prepared in accordance with United Kingdom adopted
international accounting standards and the requirements
of the Companies Act 2006 as applicable to companies
reporting under those standards.
The financial statements have been prepared on the historical
cost basis, except for the revaluation of properties and
certain financial instruments which are held at fair value.
The consolidated financial statements, including the results
and financial position, are expressed in sterling (£), which is
the presentation currency of the Group.
The Directors have considered the appropriateness of
adopting the going concern basis in preparing the financial
statements for the year ended 31 March 2025, with particular
focus on the impact of the macro-economic conditions in
which the Group is operating. The Directors also considered
the Group’s net current liability position as at 31 March 2025.
The Directors’ assessment is based on the next 12 months of
the Group’s financial forecasts from the date of approval of
the Annual Report, including a severe but plausible downside
scenario which included the following key assumptions:
– a 13% decline in the valuation of the property portfolio; and
– a 10% decline in estimated rental values.
The severe but plausible downside scenario demonstrates
that the Group over the next 12 months:
– has sufficient liquidity to fund its ongoing operations;
– is operating with significant headroom above its Group
debt financing covenants;
– property values would have to fall by 20% before breach
(or 41% from 31 March 2025 values); and
– earnings before interest and tax would need to fall by
68% before breach (or 87% from 31 March 2025 levels).
The Directors conducted extensive stress testing, sensitising
the potential impact of climate change, as detailed further
in the viability statement as well as the impact of removing
non-committed capital expenditure and sensitising potential
disposal proceeds. The Directors also considered the significance
of events beyond the 12-month going concern period, including
the maturity of the Group’s term loan in September 2026, and are
confident of the Group’s ability to refinance the loan or repay the
loan in full at maturity after taking mitigating actions. Based on
these considerations, together with available market information
and the Directors’ knowledge and experience of the Group’s
property portfolio and markets, the Directors have adopted
the going concern basis in preparing the accounts for the
year ended 31 March 2025.
The Group has adopted a number of alternative performance
measures, see note 9 for further detail.
Critical accounting judgements and key sources
of estimation uncertainty
In the process of preparing the financial statements, the
Directors are required to make certain judgements, assumptions
and estimates. Not all of the Group’s accounting policies
require the Directors to make difficult, subjective or complex
judgements or estimates. Any estimates and judgements made
are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience
and other factors, including expectations of future events
that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.
Although these estimates are based on the Directors’ best
knowledge of the amount, event or actions, actual results
may differ from those estimates.
No critical judgements have been made.
The following is intended to provide an understanding of
the estimates that management consider critical because
of the level of complexity, judgement or estimation involved
in their application and their material impact on the
financial statements.
Key source of estimation uncertainty:
investment property portfolio valuation
The valuation to determine the fair value of the Group’s
investment properties is prepared by its external valuer.
The valuation is based upon a number of assumptions and
estimations, including future rental income, anticipated
capital expenditure, including future development costs and
an appropriate discount rate. The valuer also makes reference
to market evidence of transaction prices for similar properties.
Information about the valuation techniques, significant
assumptions and associated key unobservable inputs
sensitivity disclosures are disclosed in note 10. An adjustment
to any of these assumptions could lead to a material change
in the property valuation. For the current year and prior year,
the Directors adopted the valuation without adjustment
– further information is provided in the accounting policy
for investment property and note 10.
New accounting standards
In the current year, the Group has applied a number of
amendments to IFRSs that are mandatorily effective for an
accounting period that begins on or after 1 January 2024.
Their adoption has not had any material impact on the
disclosures or on the amounts reported in these financial
statements. These new standards and amendments are
listed below:
– Amendments to IAS 1 – Presentation of financial
statements – classification of liabilities as current or
non-current and non-current liabilities with covenants;
– Amendments to IFRS 8, specifically Operating Segments
disclosure following IFRIC agenda decision;
– Amendments to IFRS 16 – Leases – lease liability in a sale
and leaseback; and
– Amendments to IAS 7 and IFRS 7 – supplier
finance arrangements.
At the date of authorisation of these financial statements,
the Group has not applied the following new and revised
IFRSs that have been issued but are not yet effective:
156 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
1 Material accounting policies continued
– IFRS 18 – Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements:
– Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7 – Amendments to the
Classification and Measurement of Financial Instruments;
– IFRS 19 – Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures;
– Amendments to IAS 21 – Lack of Exchangeability; and
– Amendments to IFRS 10 and IAS 28 – sale or contribution
of assets between an investor and its associate or
joint venture.
The Directors do not expect that the adoption of the standards
listed above will have a material impact on the financial
statements of the Group in future periods, with the
exception of IFRS 18, where the Directors are still assessing
its potential impact.
Basis of consolidation
The Group’s financial statements consolidate the financial
statements of the Company and all its subsidiary undertakings
for the year ended 31 March 2025. Subsidiary undertakings
are those entities controlled by the Group. Control exists
when the Company is exposed, or has rights, to variable
returns from its involvement with the entity and has the ability
to affect those returns through its power over the investee.
Revenue
Gross rental income comprises rental income and premiums
on lease surrenders on investment properties for the year,
exclusive of service charges receivable, on a straight-line
basis. Initial direct costs incurred in arranging a lease are
added to the carrying value of investment properties and
are subsequently recognised as an expense over the lease
term on the same basis as the lease income.
Lease incentives, including rent-free periods and payments
to customers, are allocated to the income statement
on a straight-line basis over the lease term or on another
systematic basis, if applicable. The value of resulting accrued
rental income is included within the respective property,
with the aggregate cost of the incentive recognised as
a reduction in rental income on a straight-line basis over
the term of the lease.
Revenue from Fully Managed spaces is split between an
amount attributable to the rent on a fitted basis and services
income as set out in the lease agreement, which is based
on stand-alone selling prices. Where the lease agreement
does not provide an attribution, the Group splits the revenue
based on the ERV of the fitted rent, which represents the
stand-alone selling price. The rent is recognised in gross rental
income (see above) and the services income is recorded
over the period when the services are provided and benefit
the customer.
The Group’s Flex Partnerships represent leases with third-party
operators where the rent payable is calculated by reference
to the profitability of the space under management. The rent
is recognised in gross rental income (see above).
Service charge income is recorded over the period when
the services are provided and benefit the customer.
Cost of sales
Service charge expenses represent the costs of operating
the Group’s portfolio and are expensed as incurred.
Fully Managed service costs represent the costs of
operating the Group’s Fully Managed spaces and are
expensed as incurred.
Other property expenses represent irrecoverable running
costs directly attributable to specific properties within
the Group’s portfolio. Costs incurred in the improvement
of the portfolio which, in the opinion of the Directors,
are not of a capital nature are written-off to the income
statement as incurred.
Administration expenses
Costs not directly attributable to individual properties
are treated as administration expenses.
Share-based payments
The cost of granting share-based payments to employees
and Directors is recognised within administration expenses
in the income statement. The Group has used the stochastic
model to fair value LTIP grants, which is dependent upon
factors including the share price, expected volatility and
vesting period. The fair value of the RSP is based on the share
price at grant date. The resulting fair value is amortised
through the income statement over the vesting period.
The charge is recognised over the vesting period and reversed
if it is likely that any non-market-based performance or service
criteria will not be met. Any cost in respect of share-based
payments relating to the employees of a subsidiary company
is recharged accordingly.
Investment property
Both leasehold and freehold investment properties and
investment properties under development are professionally
valued on a fair value basis by qualified external valuers,
and the Directors must ensure that they are satisfied that
the valuation of the Group’s properties is appropriate for
inclusion in the accounts without adjustment. The valuation
of the property portfolio reflects its fair value taking into
account the market view of all relevant factors, including
the climate-related risks associated with the properties.
This includes the impact of expected regulatory changes.
The valuations have been prepared in accordance with the
current versions of the RICS Valuation – Global Standards
(incorporating the International Valuation Standards (IVS))
and the UK national supplement (the Red Book) and have
been primarily derived using comparable recent market
transactions on arm’s length terms.
For investment property, this approach involves applying
market-derived capitalisation yields to current and market-
derived future income streams with appropriate adjustments
for income voids arising from vacancies or rent-free periods.
These capitalisation yields and future income streams are
derived from comparable property and leasing transactions
and are considered to be the key inputs in the valuation.
Other factors that are taken into account in the valuations
include the tenure of the property, tenancy details, non-payment
of rent, planning, building and environmental factors that
might affect the property.
157Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements continued
1 Material accounting policies continued
An investment property will be classified as held for sale where
it is available for immediate sale in its present condition and
the sale is highly probable.
In the case of investment property under development, the
approach applied is the ‘residual method’ of valuation, which is
the investment method of valuation as described above with a
deduction for the costs necessary to complete the development,
together with an allowance for the remaining risk.
The Group recognises sales and purchases of property when
control passes on completion of the contract. Gains or losses
on the sale of properties are calculated by reference to the
carrying value at the end of the previous year, adjusted
for subsequent capital expenditure.
Lease obligations
Where the Group is a lessee, a right of use asset and lease
liability are recognised at the outset of the lease. The lease
liability is initially measured at the present value of the
lease payments based on the Group’s expectations of the
likelihood of the lease term. The lease liability is subsequently
adjusted to reflect an imputed finance charge, payments
made to the lessor and any lease modifications.
The right of use asset is initially measured at cost, which
comprises the amount of the lease liability and direct costs
incurred, less any lease incentives received by the Group.
The Group has two categories of right of use assets: those
in respect of head leases related to its leasehold properties; and
an occupational lease for its head office. The right of use asset
in respect of head leases is classified as investment property
and is added to the carrying value of the leasehold investment
property. The right of use asset in respect of its occupational
leases is classified as property, plant and equipment and is
subsequently depreciated over the length of the lease.
Depreciation
No depreciation is provided in respect of freehold investment
properties and leasehold investment properties. Plant and
equipment is held at cost less accumulated depreciation.
Depreciation is provided on plant and equipment, at rates
calculated to write off the cost, less residual value prevailing
at the balance sheet date of each asset evenly over its
expected useful life, as follows:
Fixtures and fittings – over three to five years.
Leasehold improvements – over the term of the lease.
Joint ventures
Joint ventures are accounted for under the equity method
where, in the Directors’ judgement, the Group has joint
control of the entity. The Group’s level of control in its joint
ventures is driven both by the individual agreements which
set out how control is shared by the partners and how that
control is exercised in practice. The Group balance sheet
contains the Group’s share of the net assets of its joint
ventures. Balances with partners owed to or from the Group
by joint ventures are included within investments. The Group’s
share of joint venture profits and losses are included in the
Group income statement in a single line. All of the Group’s
joint ventures adopt the accounting policies of the Group
for inclusion in the Group financial statements. There have
been no new joint ventures during the year and no changes
to any of the agreements in place.
Income tax
Current tax is the amount payable on the taxable income
for the year and any adjustment in respect of previous years.
Deferred tax is provided in full on temporary differences between
the tax base of an asset or liability and its carrying amount in the
balance sheet. Deferred tax is determined using tax rates that
have been enacted or substantively enacted by the balance
sheet date and are expected to apply when the asset is realised
or the liability is settled. Deferred tax assets are recognised when
it is probable that taxable profits will be available against which
the deferred tax assets can be utilised. No provision is made
for temporary differences arising on the initial recognition of
assets or liabilities that affect neither accounting nor taxable
profit, with the exception of leases. Tax is included in the
income statement except when it relates to items recognised
directly in other comprehensive income or equity, in which
case the related tax is also recognised directly in other
comprehensive income or equity.
Pension benefits
The Group contributes to a defined benefit pension plan which
is funded with assets held separately from those of the Group.
The full value of the net assets or liabilities of the pension fund
is brought onto the balance sheet at each balance sheet date.
Actuarial gains and losses are taken to other comprehensive
income; all other movements are taken to the income statement.
Capitalisation of interest
Interest associated with direct expenditure on investment and
trading properties under development and refurbishment
is capitalised. Direct expenditure includes the purchase cost
of a site if it has been purchased with the specific intention
to redevelop, but does not include the original book cost of
a site where no intention existed. Interest is capitalised from
the start of the development work until the date of practical
completion. The rate used is the Group’s weighted average
cost of borrowings or, if appropriate, the rate on specific
associated borrowings.
Other investments
Other investments comprise investments in Pi Labs European
PropTech venture capital fund, which is measured at fair value,
based on the net assets of the fund; this is a Level 3 valuation
as defined by IFRS 13. Changes in fair value are recognised
in profit or loss.
Financial instruments
i Borrowings The Group’s borrowings in the form of its
debentures, private placement notes and bank loans are
recognised initially at fair value, after taking account of any
discount or premium on issue and attributable transaction
costs. Subsequently, borrowings are held at amortised
cost, with any discounts, premiums and attributable costs
charged to the income statement using the effective
interest rate method.
ii Cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents
comprise cash in hand, demand deposits and other short-term
highly liquid investments that are readily convertible into a
known amount of cash and are subject to insignificant risk
of changes in value.
158 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
1 Material accounting policies continued
iii Trade receivables and payables Trade receivables
are initially measured at the transaction price, and are
subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective
interest rate method. See note 14 for further information
on trade receivables and associated expected credit losses.
Trade payables are initially measured at fair value and
subsequently measured at amortised cost.
iv Derivative financial instruments The Group uses derivatives
(principally interest rate caps) in managing interest rate risk,
and does not use them for trading. They are recorded, and
subsequently revalued, at fair value, with revaluation gains
or losses being immediately taken to the income statement.
Derivatives with a maturity of less than 12 months or that expect
to be settled within 12 months of the balance sheet date are
presented as current assets or liabilities. Other derivatives
are presented as non-current assets or liabilities.
2 Segmental analysis
IFRS 8 Operating Segments requires the identification of operating segments based on internal financial reports detailing
components of the Group regularly reviewed by the chief operating decision makers (the Group’s Executive Committee) in order
to allocate resources to the segments and to assess their performance.
The Directors have concluded that, based on the level of information provided to the Executive Committee, that its Fully
Managed operations is an operating segment as defined by IFRS 8. Furthermore, given the revenue is in excess of 10% of wider
Group revenue, the segment should be separately reported from the remainder of the Group’s activities.
The remainder of the Group’s components are managed together, with their operating results reviewed on an aggregated basis.
All of the Group’s revenue is generated from investment properties located in a small radius within central London. The properties
are managed as a single portfolio by a Portfolio Management team whose responsibilities are not segregated by location or
type but are managed on an asset-by-asset basis. The majority of the Group’s assets are mixed-use, therefore the office, retail
and any residential space are managed together. The Directors have considered the nature of the business, how the business is
managed and how they review performance, and in their judgement, the Group has only two reportable segments.
The Executive Committee reviews the performance of its Fully Managed offer based on gross revenue (including Fully Managed
services income) net of cost of sales on a proportionally consolidated basis (including the Group’s joint ventures at share).
Total assets and liabilities are not monitored by segment.
Segmental analysis for the year ended 31 March 2025
Fully Managed Group Fully
offices including Joint Managed Remainder Total
joint ventures ventures offices of portfolio 2025
£m £m £m £m £m
Revenue
20.6
(1.8)
18.8
75.4
94.2
Cost of sales
(11.3)
0.5
(10.8)
(24.3)
(35.1)
Net result
9.3
(1.3)
8.0
51.1
59.1
Group Fully Managed office revenue includes £0.3 million (2024: £nil) in respect of spreading of lease incentives.
Segmental analysis for the year ended 31 March 2024
Fully Managed Group Fully
offices including Joint Managed Remainder Total
joint ventures ventures offices of portfolio 2024
£m £m £m £m £m
Revenue
13.6
(1.4)
12.2
83.2
95.4
Cost of sales
(8.6)
0.5
(8.1)
(25.2)
(33.3)
Net result
5.0
(0.9)
4.1
58.0
62.1
3 Revenue
2025 2024
£m £m
Gross rental income
69.4
67.2
Spreading of lease incentives
(1.4)
5.7
Service charge income
12.8
14.4
Fully Managed services income
10.9
6.4
Joint venture fee income
2.5
1.7
94.2
95.4
159Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements continued
3 Revenue continued
The table below sets out the Group’s gross rental income split between types of space provided:
2025 2024
£m £m
Ready to Fit
36.4
37.9
Retail
11.8
10.5
Fitted
7.9
6.8
Fully Managed
7.6
5.8
Flex Partnerships
3.0
3.8
Hotel
2.7
2.4
69.4
67.2
The table below sets out the Group’s net rental income, which is an alternative performance measure (see note 9):
2025 2024
£m £m
Gross rental income
69.4
67.2
Expected credit loss
(0.1)
(0.2)
Rental income
69.3
67.0
Spreading of lease incentives
(1.4)
5.7
Ground rent
(0.6)
(0.6)
Net rental income
67.3
72.1
4 Cost of sales
2025 2024
£m £m
Service charge expenses
16.5
17.7
Fully Managed service expenses
10.8
8.1
Other property expenses
7.2
6.9
Ground rent
0.6
0.6
35.1
33.3
The table below sets out the Group’s property costs, which is an alternative performance measure (see note 9):
2025 2024
£m £m
Service charge income
(12.8)
(14.4)
Service charge expenses
16.5
17.7
Fully Managed services income
(10.9)
(6.4)
Fully Managed services expenses
10.8
8.1
Other property expenses
7.2
6.9
Expected credit loss/(recovery)
0.1
(0.1)
Property costs
10.9
11.8
5 Administration expenses
2025 2024
£m £m
Employee costs
29.7
30.9
Depreciation (see note 12)
1.7
1.6
Other head office costs
8.6
9.8
40.0
42.3
160 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
5 Administration expenses continued
Included within employee costs is an accounting charge for the Employee Long Term Incentive Plan and deferred bonus shares
of £4.2 million (2024: £4.0 million). Employee costs, including those of Directors, comprise the following:
2025 2024
£m £m
Wages and salaries (including annual bonuses)
24.2
24.4
Share-based payments
4.0
4.1
Social security costs
4.0
3.7
Other pension costs
2.1
2.4
34.3
34.6
Less: recovered through service charges
(2.0)
(1.9)
Less: capitalised into development projects
(2.1)
(1.8)
Less: Fully Managed staff costs
(0.5)
–
29.7
30.9
Key management compensation
The emoluments and pension benefits of the Directors are set out in detail within the Directors’ remuneration report on
pages 126 to 145. The Directors and the Executive Committee are considered to be key management for the purposes of IAS 24 –
Related Party Transactions with their aggregate compensation set out below:
2025 2024
£m £m
Wages and salaries (including annual bonuses)
6.4
6.8
Share-based payments
1.9
1.9
Social security costs
1.1
1.1
Other pension costs
0.4
0.5
9.8
10.3
The number of people considered key management totalled 15 (2024: 17). The Group had loans to key management of £nil
(2024: £2,880) outstanding at 31 March 2025. The Group’s key management, its pension plan and joint ventures are the Group’s
only related parties.
Employee information
The monthly average number of employees of the Group, including Directors, was:
2025 2024
Number Number
Head office and property management
158
150
Auditor’s remuneration
2025 2024
£000 £000
Audit of the Group and Company’s annual accounts
345
394
Audit of subsidiaries
111
107
456
501
Audit-related assurance services, including the interim review
63
61
Reporting accountant fees – rights issue and issue of £250.0 million sustainable sterling bond
308
–
Sustainability assurance
73
68
Auditor’s remuneration
900
630
161Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements continued
6 Finance income
2025 2024
£m £m
Interest income on joint venture balances
5.7
5.8
Interest on cash deposits
1.5
0.3
7.2
6.1
7 Finance costs
2025 2024
£m £m
Interest on revolving credit facilities
7.3
5.8
Interest on term loan
12.8
8.5
Interest on private placement notes
7.6
11.0
Interest on sustainable sterling bond
7.2
–
Interest on debenture stock
1.2
1.2
Interest on obligations under head leases
3.1
2.4
Other
0.4
0.1
Gross finance costs
39.6
29.0
Less: capitalised interest
(26.5)
(11.3)
13.1
17.7
The Group capitalised interest on certain developments with specific associated borrowings at 6.9% (2024: 6.8%),
with the remainder at the Group’s weighted average cost of non-specific borrowings of 4.6% (2024: 3.5%).
8 Tax
2025 2024
£m £m
Current tax
UK corporation tax – current period
1.6
–
UK corporation tax – prior periods
–
–
Total current tax
1.6
–
Deferred tax
0.2
–
Tax charge for the year
1.8
–
The effective rate of tax is lower (2024: lower) than the standard rate of tax. The difference arises from the items set out below:
2025 2024
£m £m
Profit/(loss) before tax
117.8
(307.8)
Tax charge/(credit) on profit/(loss) at standard rate of 25% (2024: 25%)
29.5
(77.0)
REIT tax exempt rental profits and gains
(7.9)
(7.4)
Changes in fair value of properties not subject to tax
(24.5)
80.5
Other
4.7
3.9
Tax charge for the year
1.8
–
The Group complied with all the requirements necessary to maintain its REIT status throughout the year. If our REIT interest cover
is below 1.25x each year, we are subject to corporation tax on the shortfall. During the year, our REIT interest cover was below 1.25x
and as a result we incurred a current tax charge of £1.6 million (2024: £nil).
During the year, £0.2 million (2024: £nil) of deferred tax was credited directly to equity. The Group recognised a net deferred tax
asset at 31 March 2025 of £nil (2024: £nil). This consists of deferred tax assets of £1.4 million (2024: £1.6 million) and deferred tax
liabilities of £1.4 million (2024: £1.6 million).
162 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
8 Tax continued
Deferred tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date.
Movement in deferred tax
Recognised
At 1 April in the income Recognised
At 31 March
2024 statement
in equity
2025
£m £m
£m
£m
Net deferred tax (liability)/asset in respect of other temporary differences
–
(0.2)
0.2
–
The Group has not recognised further deferred tax assets in respect of gross temporary differences arising from the following
items, because it is uncertain whether future taxable profits will arise against which these assets can be utilised:
2025 2024
£m £m
Revenue losses
32.4
24.6
Share-based payments
7.8
8.4
Other
1.5
1.3
41.7
34.3
As a REIT, the majority of rental profits and chargeable gains from the Group’s property rental business are exempt from UK
corporation tax. The Group is otherwise subject to corporation tax. In particular, the Group’s REIT exemption does not extend
to either profits arising from the sale of trading properties or gains arising from the sale of investment properties in respect
of which a major redevelopment has completed within the preceding three years.
In order to ensure that the Group is able to both retain its status as a REIT and avoid financial charges being imposed, a number
of tests (including a minimum distribution test) must be met by both Great Portland Estates plc and by the Group as a whole on
an ongoing basis. These conditions are detailed in the Corporation Tax Act 2010.
The Group has assessed the impact of the Pillar Two tax legislation, which came into effect on 1 January 2024. The Group does
not meet the minimum thresholds for the legislation to apply for the year ended 31 March 2025 and expects this to remain the
case for the foreseeable future. All entities within the Group are UK tax resident.
9 Earnings per share, alternative performance measures and EPRA metrics
As is usual practice in our sector, we use alternative performance measures (APMs) to help explain the performance of the business.
These include quoting a number of measures on a proportionally consolidated basis to include joint ventures, as it best describes how
we manage the portfolio, and using measures prescribed by the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA). The measures
defined by EPRA are designed to enhance transparency and comparability across the European real estate sector in accordance
with its Best Practice Recommendations (BPR). The Directors consider these EPRA metrics, and the other metrics provided, to be
the most appropriate method of reporting the value and performance of the business. During the year, EPRA updated its BPR
guidelines to incorporate changes to EPRA earnings effective for reporting periods starting after 1 October 2024. The Directors
have adopted the revised guidelines early in the current financial year. A summary of our EPRA measures is on page 35.
EPRA capital expenditure and EPRA NIY are included in note 10 and EPRA vacancy is set out on page 201.
In June 2024, the Company issued 152,320,747 new shares through a rights issue (see note 20). To reflect the rights issue, the
comparative number of shares previously used to calculate the basic and diluted per share data has been restated in the below
earnings and net asset value per share calculations. In accordance with IAS 33 – Earnings per share, an adjustment factor of 1.20
has been applied to the comparative number of shares based on the ratio of the Company’s closing share price of 414.6 pence
per share on 22 May 2024, being the day prior to the announcement of the rights issue (adjusted for the recommended final
dividend for the year ended 31 March 2024) and the theoretical ex-rights price at that date of 345.4 pence per share.
Earnings per share
Weighted average number of ordinary shares
2024
2025 Re-stated
Number of Number of
shares shares
Issued ordinary share capital at 1 April
253,867,911
253,867,911
Rights issue
132,033,365
50,883,840
Investment in own shares
(1,816,870)
(1,064,976)
Weighted average number of ordinary shares at 31 March – basic
384,084,406
303,686,775
163Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements continued
9 Earnings per share, alternative performance measures and EPRA metrics continued
Basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS)
Re-stated Re-stated
Profit Number Profit Loss number loss
after tax of shares per share after tax of shares per share
2025 2025 2025 2024 2024 2024
£m million pence £m million pence
Basic
116.0
384.1
30.2
(307.8)
303.7
(101.4)
Dilutive effect of LTIP shares
–
0.9
(0.1)
–
–
–
Diluted
116.0
385.0
30.1
(307.8)
303.7
(101.4)
Basic and diluted EPRA EPS
Re-stated
Earnings/ Earnings/ (Loss)/ Re-stated (loss)/
(loss) Number (loss) earnings number earnings
after tax of shares per share after tax of shares per share
2025 2025 2025 2024 2024 2024
£m million pence £m million pence
Basic
116.0
384.1
30.2
(307.8)
303.7
(101.4)
(Surplus)/deficit from investment property net of tax (note 10)
(83.2)
–
(21.6)
267.3
–
88.0
(Surplus)/deficit from joint venture investment property
(note 11)
(14.5)
–
(3.7)
56.5
–
18.6
Debt cancellation costs (note 16)
0.7
–
0.2
–
–
–
Deficit on revaluation of derivatives (note 17)
0.4
–
0.1
1.7
–
0.6
Deficit on revaluation of other investments (note 13)
0.4
–
0.1
0.2
–
0.1
Deferred tax in respect of adjustments (note 8)
0.2
–
–
–
–
–
Exceptional item: IT transformation costs
0.2
–
–
–
–
–
Basic EPRA earnings
20.2
384.1
5.3
17.9
303.7
5.9
Dilutive effect of LTIP shares (note 21)
–
0.9
(0.1)
–
0.1
–
Diluted EPRA earnings
20.2
385.0
5.2
17.9
303.8
5.9
During the year, the Group commenced an IT transformation project to replace the Group’s finance and property management
system. The cost of this project has been excluded from EPRA EPS in accordance with the EPRA Best Practices Recommendations
September 2024.
Cash earnings per share
Re-stated Re-stated
Profit Number Earnings Profit number earnings
after tax of shares per share after tax of shares per share
2025 2025 2025 2024 2024 2024
£m million pence £m million pence
Diluted EPRA earnings
20.2
385.0
5.2
17.9
303.8
5.9
Capitalised interest
(26.5)
–
(6.9)
(11.3)
–
(3.7)
Spreading of lease incentives
1.0
–
0.3
(5.7)
–
(1.9)
Spreading of lease incentives in joint ventures
2.4
–
0.7
(1.4)
–
(0.4)
Capitalised interest in joint ventures
(0.2)
–
(0.1)
–
–
–
Employee incentive plan charges
4.2
–
1.1
4.0
–
1.3
Cash earnings per share
1.1
385.0
0.3
3.5
303.8
1.2
Net assets per share
The Group has adopted EPRA’s Best Practice Recommendations for Net Asset Value (NAV) metrics. The recommendations include
three NAV metrics: EPRA Net Tangible Assets (NTA), Net Reinvestment Value (NRV) and Net Disposal Value (NDV). We consider
EPRA NTA to be the most relevant measure for the Group and the primary measure of IFRS net asset value; definitions are
included in the glossary.
In addition, we have presented a pro forma net assets per share, which re-states the 31 March 2024 balance sheet, to include
the net proceeds and new shares issued as a result from the rights issue. We consider the pro forma net assets per share to be
a more appropriate metric to benchmark performance over the year, given it is based on balance sheet values rather than
share price derived metrics.
164 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
9 Earnings per share, alternative performance measures and EPRA metrics continued
Number of ordinary shares
2024
2025 Re-stated
Number of number of
shares shares
Issued ordinary share capital
253,867,911
253,867,911
Rights issue
152,320,747
50,883,840
Investment in own shares
(2,893,542)
(1,064,976)
Number of shares – basic
403,295,116
303,686,775
Dilutive effect of LTIP shares
1,472,577
676,992
Number of shares – diluted
404,767,693
304,363,767
EPRA net assets per share at 31 March 2025
EPRA EPRA EPRA
IFRS NTA NDV NRV
£m £m £m £m
IFRS basic and diluted net assets
2,000.7
2,000.7
2,000.7
2,000.7
Fair value of derivative financial instruments
–
–
–
–
Fair value of financial liabilities (note 17)
–
–
46.5
–
Real estate transfer tax
–
–
–
209.3
Net assets used in per share calculations
2,000.7
2,000.7
2,047.2
2,210.0
IFRS EPRA NTA EPRA NDV EPRA NRV
pence pence pence pence
Net assets per share (pence)
496
496
508
548
Diluted net assets per share (pence)
494
494
506
546
EPRA net assets per share at 31 March 2024
EPRA EPRA EPRA
IFRS NTA NDV NRV
£m £m £m £m
IFRS basic and diluted net assets
1,583.0
1,583.0
1,583.0
1,583.0
Fair value of derivative financial instruments
–
(0.4)
–
(0.4)
Fair value of financial liabilities (note 17)
–
–
50.7
–
Real estate transfer tax
–
–
–
170.1
Net assets used in per share calculations
1,583.0
1,582.6
1,633.7
1,752.7
Re-stated Re-stated Re-stated Re-stated
IFRS EPRA NTA EPRA NDV EPRA NRV
pence pence pence pence
Net assets per share (pence)
521
521
538
577
Diluted net assets per share (pence)
520
520
537
576
Pro forma net assets per share
The prior year’s NTA, adjusted for the impact of the new equity raised as a result of the rights issue is as follows:
31 March 31 March Net
2024 Share 2024 proceeds 31 March
Re-stated as adjustment as from rights 2024
above per IAS 33 disclosed issue Pro forma
EPRA net assets (£m)
1,582.6
–
1,582.6
335.6
1,918.2
Number of shares (million) – diluted
304.4
(50.9)
253.5
152.3
405.8
Diluted net assets per share (pence)
520
624
473
165Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements continued
9 Earnings per share, alternative performance measures and EPRA metrics continued
Total Accounting Return (TAR)
2025 2024
£m £m
Opening EPRA net assets
1,582.6
1,918.6
Adjusted for rights issue
335.6
–
Re-stated opening EPRA net assets (A)
1,918.2
1,918.6
Closing net assets
2,000.7
1,582.6
Increase/(decrease) in net assets
82.5
(336.0)
Ordinary dividends paid in the year
31.8
31.9
Total return (B)
114.3
(304.1)
Total Accounting Return (B/A)
6.0%
(15.9%)
EPRA loan-to-property value and net debt
We consider loan-to-property value, including our share of joint ventures, to be the best measure of the Group’s risk
from financial leverage. We also present net gearing as it is a key covenant on our loan facilities (see note 16).
2025 2024
£m £m
£21.9 million 5
5
⁄
8
% debenture stock 2029
21.9
21.9
£450.0 million revolving credit facility
150.0
47.0
£150.0 million revolving credit facility
107.0
–
£75.0 million term loan 2026 (2024: £250.0 million)
75.0
250.0
£250.0 million 5.375% sustainable sterling bond 2031
250.0
–
Private placement notes
250.0
425.0
Less: cash and cash equivalents
(36.9)
(22.9)
Group net debt
817.0
721.0
Net payables (including customer rent deposits)
72.4
54.6
Group net debt including net payables
889.4
775.6
Joint venture net payables (at share)
9.5
10.5
Less: joint venture cash and cash equivalents (at share)
(15.9)
(25.7)
Net debt including joint ventures (A)
883.0
760.4
Group properties at market value
2,368.5
1,855.1
Joint venture properties at market value (at share)
500.8
476.1
Property portfolio at market value including joint ventures (B)
2,869.3
2,331.2
EPRA loan-to-property value (A/B)
30.8%
32.6%
Group cash and cash equivalents includes customer rent deposits held in separate designated bank accounts of £18.7 million
(2024: £17.0 million), the use of the deposits is subject to restrictions as set out in the customer’s lease agreement and therefore
not available for general use by the Group.
166 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
9 Earnings per share, alternative performance measures and EPRA metrics continued
EPRA cost ratio (including share of joint ventures)
2025 2024
£m £m
Administration expenses
40.0
42.3
Net property costs (excluding Fully Managed services income and costs)
11.0
10.1
Joint venture management fee income (excluding Fully Managed services income and costs, note 3)
(2.5)
(1.7)
Joint venture property and administration costs (note 11)
3.1
3.6
EPRA costs (including direct vacancy costs) (A)
51.6
54.3
Direct vacancy costs
(6.9)
(5.1)
Joint venture direct vacancy cost
(1.3)
(2.2)
EPRA costs (excluding direct vacancy costs) (B)
43.4
47.0
Net rental income (note 3)
67.3
72.1
Joint venture net rental income (note 11)
15.9
19.4
Gross rental income (C)
83.2
91.5
Portfolio at fair value including joint ventures (D)
2,869.3
2,331.2
Cost ratio (including direct vacancy costs) (A/C)
62.0%
59.3%
Cost ratio (excluding direct vacancy costs) (B/C)
52.1%
51.4%
Cost ratio (by portfolio value) (A/D)
1.8%
2.3%
Net gearing
2025 2024
£m £m
Nominal value of interest-bearing loans and borrowings (see note 16)
853.9
743.9
Obligations under occupational leases (note 19)
–
1.0
Less: cash and cash equivalents (unrestricted) (note 22)
(18.2)
(5.9)
Adjusted net debt (A)
835.7
739.0
Net assets
2,000.7
1,583.0
Pension scheme asset (note 26)
(4.8)
(4.9)
Adjusted net equity (B)
1,995.9
1,578.1
Net gearing (A/B)
41.9%
46.8%
167Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements continued
10 Investment property
Investment property
Freehold Leasehold Total
£m £m £m
Book value at 1 April 2023
883.5
925.0
1,808.5
Costs capitalised
28.0
57.3
85.3
Movement in lease incentives
7.8
(0.4)
7.4
Interest capitalised
2.2
2.6
4.8
Acquisitions
128.3
–
128.3
Disposals
(5.8)
(8.4)
(14.2)
Transfer to investment property under development
(50.1)
(59.6)
(109.7)
Transfer to investment property held for sale
–
(18.2)
(18.2)
Net valuation deficit on investment property
(108.8)
(106.0)
(214.8)
Book value at 31 March 2024
885.1
792.3
1,677.4
Costs capitalised
55.3
53.5
108.8
Movement in lease incentives
0.3
(0.9)
(0.6)
Interest capitalised
2.4
3.5
5.9
Acquisitions
57.3
122.9
180.2
Disposals
–
(0.5)
(0.5)
Net valuation surplus on investment property
36.7
42.5
79.2
Book value at 31 March 2025 (A)
1,037.1
1,013.3
2,050.4
Investment property under development
Freehold Leasehold Total
£m £m £m
Book value at 1 April 2023
–
113.7
113.7
Costs capitalised
–
54.6
54.6
Interest capitalised
–
6.5
6.5
Transfer from investment property
50.1
59.6
109.7
Net valuation deficit on investment property under development
–
(50.9)
(50.9)
Book value at 31 March 2024
50.1
183.5
233.6
Costs capitalised
23.6
123.0
146.6
Interest capitalised
4.7
15.9
20.6
Net valuation (deficit)/surplus on investment property under development
(8.3)
12.6
4.3
Book value at 31 March 2025 (B)
70.1
335.0
405.1
Book value of investment property & investment property under development (A+B)
1,107.2
1,348.3
2,455.5
Investment property held for sale
Freehold Leasehold Total
£m £m £m
Book value at 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024
–
18.2
18.2
Disposals
–
(18.2)
(18.2)
Book value of investment property held for sale at 31 March 2025 (C)
–
–
–
Book value of total investment property at 31 March 2025 (A+B+C)
1,107.2
1,348.3
2,455.5
The book value of investment property includes £87.0 million (2024: £74.1 million) in respect of the present value of future
ground rents. The market value of the portfolio (excluding these amounts) is £2,368.5 million. The total portfolio value including
joint venture properties of £500.8 million (see note 11) was £2,869.3 million. At 31 March 2025, property with a carrying value
of £114.8 million (2024: £107.0 million) was secured under the first mortgage debenture stock (see note 16).
168 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
10 Investment property continued
Surplus from investment property
2025 2024
£m £m
Net valuation surplus/(deficit) on investment property
83.5
(265.7)
Loss on sale of investment properties
(0.3)
(1.6)
83.2
(267.3)
The Group’s investment properties, including those held in joint ventures (note 11), were valued on the basis of fair value by
CBRE Limited (CBRE), external valuers, as at 31 March 2025. The valuations have been prepared in accordance with the current
versions of the RICS Valuation – Global Standards (incorporating the International Valuation Standards (IVS)) and the UK
national supplement (the Red Book) and have been primarily derived using comparable recent market transactions on arm’s
length terms. In accordance with the updated RICS UK supplement of its ‘Red Book’, which introduces a mandatory rotation cycle
for its valuers, CBRE will rotate off following their final valuation of the portfolio at 31 March 2026. A process is underway to select
their successor.
The total fees, including the fixed fee for this assignment, earned by CBRE (or other companies forming part of the same group of
companies within the UK) from the Group are less than 5.0% of its total UK revenues. CBRE has carried out valuation instructions,
agency and professional services on behalf of the Group for in excess of 20 years.
Real estate valuations are complex and derived using comparable market transactions which are not publicly available
and involve an element of judgement. Therefore, we have classified the valuation of the property portfolio as Level 3 as defined
by IFRS 13; this is in line with EPRA guidance. There were no transfers between levels during the year. Inputs to the valuation,
including capitalisation yields (typically the true equivalent yield) and rental values, are defined as ‘unobservable’ as defined
by IFRS 13.
Everything else being equal, there is a positive relationship between rental values and the property valuation, such that an
increase in rental values will increase the valuation of a property and a decrease in rental values will reduce the valuation of the
property. Any percentage movement in rental values will translate into approximately the same percentage movement in the
property valuation. However, due to the long-term nature of leases, where the passing rent is fixed and often subject to upwards
only rent reviews, the impact will not be immediate and will be recognised over a number of years. The relationship between
capitalisation yields and the property valuation is negative and more immediate; therefore, an increase in capitalisation yields
will reduce the valuation of a property and a reduction will increase its valuation. There is a negative relationship between
development costs and the property valuation, such that an increase in estimated development costs will decrease the valuation
of a property under development and a decrease in estimated development costs will increase the valuation of a property
under development. There are interrelationships between these inputs as they are determined by market conditions, and the
valuation movement in any one period depends on the balance between them. If these inputs move in opposite directions
(i.e. rental values increase and yields decrease), valuation movements can be amplified, whereas if they move in the same
direction, they may offset, reducing the overall net valuation movement.
An increase of 10% on the capital expenditure on the Group’s three HQ development schemes and four Fully Managed conversion
schemes, which the Directors believe is a reasonable variance to budgeted costs based on industry experience, would reduce
the valuation by £35.7 million (31 March 2024: £49.8 million), with a decrease of 10% increasing the valuation by £35.7 million
(31 March 2024: £49.8 million).
A decrease in the capitalisation yield by 25 basis points would result in an increase in the fair value of the Group’s investment
property by £112.1 million (£137.4 million including a share of joint ventures) compared to a £203.2 million based on a 50 basis point
movement at 31 March 2024. A 25 basis point increase would reduce the fair value by £102.4 million (£125.4 million including a share
of joint ventures) compared to a £166.7 million based on a 50 basis point movement at 31 March 2024. A movement of 12 basis
points was shown across the portfolio over the last 12 months and a 25 basis point movement is therefore considered to be a
reasonably possible change. Given there is only a marginal difference in the overall yields for office and retail and the movement
in year, we feel this sensitivity to be appropriate.
The valuation of the property portfolio reflects its fair value taking into account the climate-related risks associated with
the properties. This includes the impact of expected regulatory changes, and we estimate that the investment required to
upgrade our existing buildings to the new minimum EPC B rating by 2030 is less than £10 million (£10 million including share
of joint ventures (2024: £10 million and £10 million respectively)), over and above specific refurbishment and development
assumptions included in the valuation.
During the year, the Group capitalised £2.1 million (2024: £1.8 million) of employee costs in respect of its development team
into investment properties under development. At 31 March 2025, the Group had capital commitments of £359.7 million
(2024: £502.3 million).
169Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements continued
10 Investment property continued
Key inputs to the valuation (by building and location) at 31 March 2025
ERV
True equivalent yield
Average Range Average Range
£ per sq ft £ per sq ft % %
North of Oxford Street
Office
117
56 – 221
5.6
4.9 – 7.7
Retail
67
34 – 150
5.3
4.6 – 10.6
Rest of West End
Office
162
70 – 267
5.2
4.5 – 7.6
Retail
109
15 – 323
4.9
4.5– 6.8
City, Midtown and Southwark
Office
89
35 – 197
5.8
5.0 – 7.3
Retail
30
26 – 36
5.6
5.0 – 6.5
Key inputs to the valuation (by building and location) at 31 March 2024
ERV
True equivalent yield
Average Range Average Range
£ per sq ft £ per sq ft % %
North of Oxford Street
Office
102
74 – 174
5.3
4.8 – 7.3
Retail
67
34 – 110
5.3
4.5 – 10.0
Rest of West End
Office
143
70 – 249
5.8
5.0 – 7.3
Retail
115
15 – 295
5.0
3.2 – 6.8
City, Midtown and Southwark
Office
83
47 – 173
5.7
5.4 – 7.3
Retail
36
25 – 36
5.9
5.5 – 6.7
EPRA capital expenditure (alternative performance measure)
2025 2024
£m £m
Group
Acquisitions (note 10)
180.2
128.3
Developments (note 10)
146.6
54.6
Interest capitalised (note 7)
26.5
11.3
Investment properties: incremental lettable space
–
–
Investment properties: no incremental lettable space (note 10)
108.8
85.3
Movement in lease incentives (note 10)
(0.6)
7.4
Group total
461.5
286.9
Joint ventures (at share, note 10)
Developments
–
–
Interest capitalised (note 9)
0.2
–
Investment properties: incremental lettable space
–
–
Investment properties: no incremental lettable space
11.5
5.7
Movement in lease incentives
(1.5)
2.4
Total capital expenditure
471.7
295.0
Conversion from accrual to cash basis
(7.7)
(12.0)
Total capital expenditure on a cash basis
464.0
283.0
170 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
10 Investment property continued
EPRA net initial yield (NIY) and topped-up NIY (alternative performance measure)
2025 2024
£m £m
Properties at fair value including joint ventures
2,869.3
2,331.2
Less: properties under development including joint ventures
(372.9)
(201.5)
Less: residential properties
(6.8)
(4.7)
Like-for-like investment property portfolio, proposed and completed developments
2,489.6
2,125.0
Plus: estimated purchasers’ costs
181.6
155.0
Grossed-up completed property portfolio valuation (B)
2,671.2
2,280.0
Annualised cash passing rental income
1
84.7
85.9
Net service charge expense including joint ventures
(4.9)
(5.1)
Other irrecoverable property costs including joint ventures
(8.9)
(7.9)
Annualised net rents (A)
70.9
72.9
Plus: rent-free periods and other lease incentives including joint ventures
16.0
3.9
Topped-up annualised net rents (C)
86.9
76.8
EPRA net initial yield (A/B)
2.7%
3.2%
EPRA topped-up initial yield (C/B)
3.3%
3.4%
1. Annualised passing rental income as calculated by the Group’s external valuers including joint ventures at share.
See note 9 for further detail on EPRA measures which are Alternative Performance Metrics.
11 Investment in joint ventures
The Group has the following investments in joint ventures:
Balances
with 2025 2024
Equity partners Total Total
£m £m £m £m
At 1 April
277.8
213.5
491.3
538.8
Movement on joint venture balances
–
(5.9)
(5.9)
(0.9)
Additions
–
–
–
0.1
Share of profit of joint ventures
7.3
–
7.3
9.8
Share of revaluation surplus/(deficit) of joint ventures
14.5
–
14.5
(56.5)
Share of results of joint ventures
21.8
–
21.8
(46.7)
Distributions
–
–
–
–
At 31 March
299.6
207.6
507.2
491.3
All of the Group’s joint ventures operate solely in the United Kingdom and comprise the following:
2025 2024
Country of registration ownership ownership
The GHS Limited Partnership
Jersey
50%
50%
The Great Ropemaker Partnership
United Kingdom
50%
50%
The Great Victoria Partnerships
United Kingdom
50%
50%
171Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements continued
11 Investment in joint ventures continued
The Group’s share in the assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses for the joint ventures is set out below:
The GHS The Great The Great
Limited Ropemaker Victoria 2025 2025 2024
Partnership Partnership Partnerships Total At share At share
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Balance sheets
Investment property
670.6
259.3
82.0
1,011.9
505.9
481.2
Current assets
0.3
3.8
0.2
4.3
2.1
2.7
Cash and cash equivalents
14.6
3.7
13.4
31.7
15.9
25.7
Balances from partners
(207.7)
(134.5)
(73.1)
(415.3)
(207.6)
(213.5)
Current liabilities
(11.7)
(11.4)
(0.1)
(23.2)
(11.6)
(13.2)
Obligations under head leases
–
(10.2)
–
(10.2)
(5.1)
(5.1)
Net assets
466.1
110.7
22.4
599.2
299.6
277.8
The GHS The Great The Great
Limited Ropemaker Victoria 2025 2025 2024
Partnership Partnership Partnerships Total At share At share
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Income statements
Revenue
24.5
17.6
4.6
46.7
23.4
26.5
Net rental income
19.6
10.2
1.9
31.7
15.9
19.4
Property and administration costs
(0.5)
(4.5)
(1.8)
(6.8)
(3.4)
(3.6)
Net finance costs
(8.2)
(2.4)
0.3
(10.3)
(5.2)
(6.0)
Share of profit from joint ventures
10.9
3.3
0.4
14.6
7.3
9.8
Revaluation of investment property
32.0
(6.3)
3.3
29.0
14.5
(56.5)
Results of joint ventures
42.9
(3.0)
3.7
43.6
21.8
(46.7)
At 31 March 2025 and 31 March 2024, the joint ventures had no external debt facilities.
Transactions during the year between the Group and its joint ventures, which are related parties, are disclosed below:
2025 2024
£m £m
Movement on joint venture balances during the year
5.9
0.9
Balances receivable at the year end from joint ventures
(207.6)
(213.5)
Interest on balances with partners (see note 6)
5.7
5.8
Distributions
–
–
Joint venture fees paid (see note 3)
2.5
1.7
The joint venture balances are repayable on demand and bear interest as follows: the GHS Limited Partnership at 4.0% and the
Great Ropemaker Partnership at 2.0%. In measuring expected credit losses of the balances receivable at the year end from
joint ventures under IFRS 9, the ability of each joint venture to repay the loan at the reporting date if demanded by the Group
is assumed to be through the sale of the investment properties held by the joint venture. Investment properties are held at fair
value at each reporting date as described in note 10. Therefore, the net asset value of the joint venture is considered to be a
reasonable approximation of the available assets that could be realised to recover the loan balance and the requirement to
recognise expected credit losses.
The investment properties include £5.1 million (2024: £5.1 million) in respect of the present value of future ground rents; net of
these amounts, the market value of our share of the total joint venture properties is £500.8 million. The Group earns fee income
from its joint ventures for the provision of management services. All of the above transactions are made on terms equivalent
to those that prevail in arm’s length transactions. See notes 10, 14 and 17 for more information on the valuation of investment
properties and expected credit losses in joint ventures.
At 31 March 2025, the Group had £nil contingent liabilities arising in its joint ventures (2024: £nil). At 31 March 2025, the Group
had capital commitments in respect of its joint ventures of £nil (2024: £nil).
172 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
12 Property, plant and equipment
Right of use
asset for Fixtures and
occupational Leasehold fittings/
leases improvements other Total
£m £m £m £m
Cost
At 1 April 2023
4.9
5.6
2.1
12.6
Costs capitalised
–
–
0.1
0.1
At 31 March 2024
4.9
5.6
2.2
12.7
Costs capitalised
–
0.2
0.4
0.6
At 31 March 2025
4.9
5.8
2.6
13.3
Depreciation
At 1 April 2024
4.1
4.5
2.1
10.7
Charge for the year
0.8
0.7
0.2
1.7
At 31 March 2025
4.9
5.2
2.3
12.4
Carrying amount at 31 March 2024
0.8
1.1
0.1
2.0
Carrying amount at 31 March 2025
–
0.6
0.3
0.9
13 Other investments
2025 2024
£m £m
At 1 April
2.4
1.8
Acquisitions
0.8
0.8
Deficit on revaluation
(0.4)
(0.2)
At 31 March
2.8
2.4
In January 2020, the Group entered into a commitment of up to £5.0 million to invest in the Pi Labs European PropTech venture
capital fund. At 31 March 2025, the Group had made net investments of £3.3 million. Launched in 2014, Pi Labs is Europe’s longest
standing PropTech VC, and this third fund has a primary focus to invest in early stage PropTech start-ups across Europe and the
UK that use technology solutions to enhance any stage of the real estate value chain. The valuation of the fund is based on the
net assets of its investments, therefore, given these are not readily traded, we have classified the valuation of the investments
as Level 3 as defined by IFRS 13. Key areas of focus for the fund include sustainability, future of work, future of retail, commercial
real estate technologies, construction technology and smart cities.
14 Trade and other receivables
2025 2024
£m £m
Trade receivables
3.8
6.7
Expected credit loss allowance
(0.1)
(0.3)
3.7
6.4
Prepayments
0.1
0.2
Other taxes
8.4
5.9
Other receivables
8.5
12.4
20.7
24.9
Trade receivables consist of rent and service charge monies, which are typically due on the quarter day with no credit period.
Interest is charged on trade receivables in accordance with the terms of the customer’s lease. Trade receivables are provided
for based on the expected credit loss, which uses a lifetime expected loss allowance for all trade receivables based on an
assessment of each individual customer’s circumstances. This assessment reviews the outstanding balances of each individual
customer and makes an assessment of the likelihood of recovery, based on an evaluation of their financial situation. Where the
expected credit loss relates to revenue already recognised, this has been recognised immediately in the income statement.
173Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements continued
14 Trade and other receivables continued
Of the gross trade receivables of £3.8 million, £1.6 million (2024: £4.4 million) was past due, of which £1.2 million was over 30 days
(2024: £1.2 million).
2025 2024
£m £m
Movements in expected credit loss allowance
Balance at the beginning of the year
(0.3)
(1.7)
Expected credit loss allowance during the year
(0.2)
(0.3)
Amounts written-off as uncollectable
0.4
1.7
(0.1)
(0.3)
The expected credit loss for the year represents 3% (2024: 5%) of the net trade receivables balance at the balance sheet date.
15 Trade and other payables
2025 2024
£m £m
Rents received in advance
15.9
16.4
Accrued capital expenditure
26.0
18.1
Payables in respect of customer rent deposits
18.7
17.0
Other accruals
20.7
23.3
Other payables
4.2
1.4
85.5
76.2
The Directors consider that the carrying amount of trade payables approximates their fair value.
16 Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
2025 2024
£m £m
Current liabilities at amortised cost
Unsecured
£175.0 million 2.15% private placement notes 2024
–
175.0
Non-current liabilities at amortised cost
Secured
£21.9 million 5
5
⁄
8
% debenture stock 2029
21.9
22.0
Unsecured
£450.0 million revolving credit facility
149.4
46.1
£150.0 million revolving credit facility
106.4
–
£75.0 million term loan 2026 (2024: £250.0 million)
74.7
248.3
£250.0 million 5.375% sustainable sterling bond 2031
246.5
–
£40.0 million 2.70% private placement notes 2028
40.0
39.9
£30.0 million 2.79% private placement notes 2030
29.9
29.9
£30.0 million 2.93% private placement notes 2033
29.9
29.9
£25.0 million 2.75% private placement notes 2032
24.9
24.9
£125.0 million 2.77% private placement notes 2035
124.4
124.4
Non-current interest-bearing loans and borrowings
848.0
565.4
Total interest-bearing loans and borrowings
848.0
740.4
174 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
16 Interest-bearing loans and borrowings continued
The Group’s £450 million unsecured revolving credit facility (RCF) is unsecured, attracts a floating rate based on a headline
margin of 90.0 basis points over SONIA (plus or minus 2.5 basis points subject to a number of ESG-linked targets) and matures in
January 2027. In October 2024, the Group signed a new £150 million ESG-linked RCF at a headline margin of 90 basis points over
SONIA. The facility has an initial three-year term which may be extended to a maximum of five years at GPE’s request, subject
to bank consent. At 31 March 2025, the Group had £343.0 million (2024: £603.0 million) of undrawn committed credit facilities.
The Group’s £250 million unsecured term loan has a headline margin of 175 basis points over SONIA. The loan has an initial three-
year term which may be extended to a maximum of five years at GPE’s request, subject to bank consent. The Group also has
a £200 million interest rate cap to protect against any further increases in rates whilst preserving the benefit of any reductions.
The interest rate cap expires in October 2025. In November 2024, £175 million of the Group’s £250 million term loan was repaid.
In September 2024, the Group issued a sterling denominated senior unsecured sustainable £250 million bond. The bond has a
term of seven years, bears interest at a rate of 5.375% and is rated Baa2 by Moody’s Investor Services Ltd.
The Group’s £175 million 2.15% private placement notes 2024 were repaid on 22 May 2024.
The Group had a £200 million loan facility at a headline margin of 75 basis points over SONIA, with the margin stepping up by
0.25% after six months, a further 0.25% after 12 months and a final step-up of 0.50% at 18 months. The loan was undrawn and
cancelled on 30 May 2024.
At 31 March 2025, the Group has committed cash and undrawn credit facilities of £361.2 million (31 March 2024: £633.4 million).
At 31 March 2025, properties with a carrying value of £114.8 million (31 March 2024: £107.0 million) were secured under the Group’s
debenture stock.
At 31 March 2025, the nominal value of the Group’s interest-bearing loans and borrowing was £853.9 million (2024: £743.9 million)
and the Group had £343.0 million (2024: £603.0 million) of undrawn credit facilities.
17 Financial instruments
Amounts Amounts
recognised in recognised in
Carrying income Gain/(loss) Carrying income Gain/(loss)
amount statement to equity amount statement to equity
2025 2025 2025 2024 2024 2024
Categories of financial instrument £m £m £m £m £m £m
Other investments
2.8
(0.4)
–
2.4
(0.2)
–
Interest rate cap
–
(0.4)
–
0.4
(1.7)
–
Assets at fair value
2.8
(0.8)
–
2.8
(1.9)
–
Balances with joint ventures
207.6
5.7
–
213.5
5.8
–
Trade receivables
20.6
(0.2)
–
24.7
(0.1)
–
Cash and cash equivalents
36.9
1.5
–
22.9
0.3
–
Assets at amortised cost
265.1
7.0
–
261.1
6.0
–
Trade and other payables
(4.2)
–
–
(1.4)
–
–
Payables in respect of customer rent deposits
(18.7)
–
–
(17.0)
–
–
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
(848.0)
(9.6)
–
(740.4)
(15.2)
–
Obligations under occupational leases
–
–
–
(1.0)
–
–
Obligations under finance leases
(87.0)
(3.1)
–
(74.1)
(2.4)
–
Liabilities at amortised cost
(957.9)
(12.7)
–
(833.9)
(17.6)
–
Total financial instruments
(690.0)
(6.5)
–
(570.0)
(13.5)
–
175Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements continued
17 Financial instruments continued
Financial risk management objectives
Capital risk
The Group manages its capital to ensure that entities in the Group will be able to operate on a going concern basis, and as such
it aims to maintain an appropriate mix of debt and equity financing. The current capital structure of the Group consists of a mix
of equity and debt. Equity comprises issued share capital, reserves and retained earnings as disclosed in the Group statement
of changes in equity. Debt comprises long-term debenture stock, private placement notes and drawings against committed
revolving credit facilities from banks. The Group aims to maintain a loan-to-property value of between 10–35% (see note 9).
The Group operates solely in the United Kingdom, and its operating profits and net assets are sterling denominated. As a result,
the Group’s policy is to have no unhedged assets or liabilities denominated in foreign currencies.
Credit risk
Credit risk refers to the risk that a counterparty will default on its contractual obligations resulting in financial loss to the Group.
The Group has a policy of reviewing the financial information of prospective customers and only dealing with those that are
creditworthy and obtaining sufficient rental cash deposits or third-party guarantees to mitigate financial loss from defaults.
The concentration of credit risk is limited due to the large and diverse customer base, with no one customer providing more than
10% of the Group’s rental income. Details of the Group’s receivables, and the associated expected credit loss, are summarised
in notes 11 and 14 of the financial statements. The Directors believe that there is no further expected credit loss required in excess
of that provided. The carrying amount of financial assets recorded in the financial statements, which is net of impairment losses,
represents the Group’s maximum exposure to credit risk. The Group’s cash deposits are placed with a diversified range of investment
grade banks, and strict counterparty limits ensure the Group’s exposure to bank failure is minimised.
Liquidity risk
The Group operates a framework for the management of its short-, medium- and long-term funding requirements. Cash flow
and funding needs are regularly monitored to ensure sufficient undrawn facilities are in place. The Group’s funding sources
are diversified across a range of bank and bond markets and strict counterparty limits are operated on deposits.
The Group meets its day-to-day working capital requirements through the utilisation of its two revolving credit facilities.
The availability of these facilities depends on the Group complying with a number of key financial covenants; these covenants
and the Group’s compliance with them are set out in the table below:
March 2025
Key covenants
Covenant
actuals
Group
Net gearing (see note 9)
<125%
41.9%
Inner borrowing (unencumbered asset value/unsecured borrowings)
>1.66x
2.71x
Interest cover
>1.35x
10.9x
The interest rate payable on the Group’s revolving credit facilities can vary dependent on its performance against a number
of ESG covenants. These covenants and performance against them are set out on page 49 of this report.
The Group has undrawn credit facilities of £343.0 million and has substantial headroom above all of its key covenants. As a result,
the Directors consider the Group to have adequate liquidity to be able to fund the ongoing operations of the business. Under the
requirements of IAS 1, given this substantial headroom on all its key covenants, the Directors consider none of the non-current
liabilities are at risk of being repayable in the next 12 months from the result of a covenant breach.
The following tables detail the Group’s remaining contractual maturity on its financial instruments and have been drawn up
based on the undiscounted cash flows of financial liabilities, including associated interest payments, based on the earliest
date on which the Group is required to pay, and conditions existing at the balance sheet date:
Carrying Contractual Less than One to Two to More than
amount cash flows one year two years five years five years
At 31 March 2025 £m £m £m £m £m £m
Non-derivative financial liabilities
£21.9 million 5
5
⁄
8
% debenture stock 2029
21.9
26.6
1.2
1.2
24.2
–
£450.0 million revolving credit facility
149.4
166.5
9.0
157.5
–
–
£150.0 million revolving credit facility
106.4
122.2
5.9
5.9
110.4
–
£75.0 million term loan 2026
74.7
82.0
4.7
77.3
–
–
£250.0 million 5.375% sterling bond 2031
246.5
323.7
13.4
13.4
40.3
256.6
Private placement notes
249.1
307.2
7.0
7.0
58.9
234.3
Derivative financial instruments
Interest rate cap
–
–
–
–
–
–
848.0
1,028.2
41.2
262.3
233.8
490.9
176 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
17 Financial instruments continued
Carrying Contractual Less than One to two Two to five More than
amount cash flows one year years years five years
At 31 March 2024 £m £m £m £m £m £m
Non-derivative financial liabilities
£21.9 million 5
5
⁄
8
% debenture stock 2029
22.0
27.8
1.2
1.2
25.4
–
£450.0 million revolving credit facility
46.1
58.9
4.2
4.2
50.5
–
£250.0 million term loan 2026
248.3
291.3
17.2
17.2
256.9
–
Private placement notes
424.0
489.6
182.5
7.0
60.0
240.1
Derivative financial instruments
Interest rate cap
(0.4)
(0.3)
(0.2)
(0.1)
–
–
740.0
867.3
204.9
29.5
392.8
240.1
The maturity of lease obligations is set out in notes 18 and 19.
Interest rate risk
Interest rate risk arises from the Group’s use of interest-bearing financial instruments. It is the risk that future cash flows arising
from a financial instrument will fluctuate due to changes in interest rates. It is the Group’s policy to reduce interest rate risk in
respect of the cash flows arising from its debt finance, either through the use of fixed-rate debt or through the use of interest
rate derivatives such as swaps, caps and floors. It is the Group’s usual policy to maintain the proportion of floating interest rate
exposure to between 20–40% of forecast total debt. However, this target is flexible, and may not be adhered to at all times
depending on, for example, the Group’s view of future interest rate movements.
Interest rate caps
Interest rate caps protect the Group from rises in short-term interest rates by making a payment to the Group when the
underlying interest rate exceeds a specified rate (the ‘cap rate’) on a notional value. If the underlying rate exceeds the cap rate,
the payment is based upon the difference between the two rates, ensuring the Group only pays the maximum of the cap rate.
At 31 March 2025, the Group’s only interest rate derivative was a £200 million interest rate cap.
Interest rate sensitivity
The sensitivity analysis below has been determined based on the exposure to interest rates for financial instruments at the balance
sheet date, and represents management’s assessment of possible changes in interest rates based on historical trends. For the floating
rate liabilities, the analysis is prepared assuming the amount of the liability at 31 March 2025 was outstanding for the whole year:
Impact on profit/(loss)
Impact on equity
2025 2024 2025 2024
£m £m £m £m
Increase of 50 basis points
(1.7)
(0.5)
(1.7)
(0.5)
Increase of 25 basis points
(0.8)
(0.2)
(0.8)
(0.2)
Decrease of 25 basis points
0.8
0.7
0.8
0.7
Decrease of 50 basis points
1.7
1.5
1.7
1.5
Fair value of interest-bearing loans and borrowings
Book value Fair value Book value Fair value
2025 2025 2024 2024
£m £m £m £m
Items carried at fair value
Interest rate cap (asset)
–
–
(0.4)
(0.4)
Items not carried at fair value
£21.9 million 5
5
⁄
8
% debenture stock 2029
21.9
21.8
22.0
22.0
£450.0 million revolving credit facility
149.4
149.4
46.1
46.1
£150.0 million revolving credit facility
106.4
106.4
–
–
£75.0 million term loan 2026 (2024: £250.0 million)
74.7
74.7
248.3
248.3
£250.0 million 5.375% sustainable sterling bond 2031
246.5
244.5
–
–
Private placement notes
249.1
204.7
424.0
373.3
848.0
801.5
740.0
689.3
177Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements continued
17 Financial instruments continued
The fair values of the Group’s private placement notes were determined by comparing the discounted future cash flows using
the contracted yields with those of the reference gilts plus the implied margins, representing Level 2 fair value measurements
as defined by IFRS 13 – Fair Value Measurement. The fair values of the Group’s outstanding interest rate cap has been estimated
by calculating the present value of future cash flows, using appropriate market discount rates, representing Level 2 fair value
measurements as defined by IFRS 13. The fair values of the Group’s cash and cash equivalents and trade payables and receivables
are not materially different from those at which they are carried in the financial statements.
The following table details the principal amounts and remaining terms of interest rate derivatives outstanding:
Average contracted Notional
fixed interest rate
principal amount
Fair value asset
2025 2024 2025 2024 2025 2024
% % £m £m £m £m
Cash flow hedges
Interest rate cap
5.094%
5.094%
200.0
200.0
–
0.4
The Group entered a £200 million interest rate cap (at a cost of £2.1 million) effective from 9 October 2023 and expires in
September 2025.
18 Head lease obligations
Head lease obligations in respect of the Group’s leasehold properties are payable as follows:
Minimum Minimum
lease Principal lease Principal
payments Interest payments payments Interest payments
2025 2025 2025 2024 2024 2024
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Less than one year
3.5
(3.5)
–
2.9
(2.9)
–
Between one and five years
14.2
(14.0)
0.2
11.5
(11.3)
0.2
More than five years
427.4
(340.6)
86.8
358.0
(284.1)
73.9
445.1
(358.1)
87.0
372.4
(298.3)
74.1
19 Occupational lease obligations
Obligations in respect of the Group’s occupational leases for its head office are payable as follows:
Minimum Minimum
lease Principal lease Principal
payments Interest payments payments Interest payments
2025 2025 2025 2024 2024 2024
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Less than one year
–
–
–
1.0
–
1.0
Between one and five years
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1.0
–
1.0
20 Share capital
2025 2025 2024 2024
Number £m Number £m
Allotted, called up and fully paid ordinary shares of 15
5
⁄
19
pence
At 1 April
253,867,911
38.7
253,867,911
38.7
Issue of ordinary shares – rights issue
152,320,747
23.3
–
–
31 March
406,188,658
62.0
253,867,911
38.7
In June 2024, the Company raised gross proceeds of £350.3 million (£335.6 million net proceeds) by issuing 152,320,747 new
ordinary shares through a three for five rights issue.
At 31 March 2025, the Company had 406,188,658 ordinary shares with a nominal value of 15
5
⁄
19
pence each.
178 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
21 Investment in own shares
2025 2024
£m £m
At 1 April
(5.6)
(2.8)
Employee share-based incentive charges
(4.2)
(4.0)
Shares purchased in year
5.7
–
Transfer to retained earnings
2.3
1.2
At 31 March
(1.8)
(5.6)
The investment in the Company’s own shares is held at cost and comprises 2,893,542 shares (2024: 887,159 shares) held by the
Great Portland Estates plc LTIP Employee Share Trust, which will vest for certain senior employees of the Group if performance
conditions are met. During the year, 25,912 shares (2024: no shares) vested to the Directors in respect of the 2021 annual bonus
share plan and 2,032,295 additional shares were acquired by the Trust (2024: no shares). The fair value of shares awarded
and outstanding at 31 March 2025 was £12.0 million (2024: £9.8 million).
Details of the outstanding Long Term Incentive Plan and Restricted Share Plans are set out below:
Lapsed/ At 31 March
At 1 April 2024 Granted Rights issue Vested forfeit 2025
Date of Grant/Fair value (pence) No. of shares No. of shares No. of shares No. of shares No. of shares
No. of shares
Vesting dates
Long Term Incentive Plan
7 June 2021/733p
1,339,435
–
–
–
(1,339,435)
–
6 June 2024
27 May 2022/645p
1,799,690
–
370,832
–
(11,769)
2,158,753
26 May 2025
Restricted Share Plan
7 July 2023/422p
1,101,310
–
226,924
–
(14,290)
1,313,944
6 July 2026
24 November 2023/408p
10,283
–
2,118
–
–
12,401
23 Nov 2026
20 June 2024/341p
–
1,403,461
–
–
(19,786)
1,383,675
19 June 2027
4,250,718
1,403,461
599,874
–
(1,385,280)
4,868,773
22 Cash and cash equivalents
2025 2024
£m £m
Cash held at bank (unrestricted)
18.2
5.9
Amounts held in respect of customer rent deposits (restricted)
18.7
17.0
36.9
22.9
Amounts held in respect of customer rent deposits are subject to restrictions as set out in the customers’ lease agreement
and therefore not available for general use by the Group.
23 Notes to the Group statement of cash flows
Reconciliation of financing liabilities
Other
1 April New Inflows/ non-cash 31 March
2024 obligations (outflows) movements 2025
£m £m £m £m £m
Long-term interest-bearing loans and borrowings
565.4
455.5
(175.0)
2.1
848.0
Short-term interest-bearing loans and borrowings
175.0
–
(175.0)
–
–
Obligations under leases
75.1
12.9
(3.1)
2.1
87.0
815.5
468.4
(353.1)
4.2
935.0
179Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements continued
23 Notes to the Group statement of cash flows continued
Other
1 April New Inflows/ non-cash 31 March
2023 obligations (outflows) movements 2024
£m £m £m £m £m
Long-term interest-bearing loans and borrowings
458.5
248.0
33.5
(174.6)
565.4
Short-term interest-bearing loans and borrowings
–
–
–
175.0
175.0
Obligations under leases
68.7
7.4
(3.3)
2.3
75.1
527.2
255.4
30.2
2.7
815.5
Adjustment for non-cash items
Adjustments for non-cash items used in the reconciliation of cash generated from/(used in) operations in the Group statement of
cash flows’ is disclosed below:
2025 2024
£m £m
(Surplus)/deficit from investment property
(83.2)
267.3
Deficit on revaluation of other investments
0.4
0.2
Employee share-based incentive charge
4.2
4.0
Spreading of lease incentives
1.0
(5.7)
Share of results of joint ventures
(21.8)
46.7
Depreciation
1.7
1.6
Other
(0.7)
(0.7)
Adjustments for non-cash items
(98.4)
313.4
24 Dividends
2025 2024
£m £m
Dividends paid
Interim dividend for the year ended 31 March 2025 of 2.9 pence per share
11.8
–
Final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2024 of 7.9 pence per share
20.0
–
Interim dividend for the year ended 31 March 2024 of 4.7 pence per share
–
11.9
Final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2023 of 7.9 pence per share
–
20.0
31.8
31.9
A final dividend of 5 .0 pence per share was approved by the Board on 20 May 2025 and, subject to shareholder approval,
will be paid on 7 July 2025 to shareholders on the register on 30 May 2025. The dividend is not recognised as a liability at
31 March 2025. The 2024 final dividend and the 2024 interim dividend are included within the Group statement of changes
in equity.
25 Lease receivables
Future aggregate minimum rentals receivable under non-cancellable leases are:
2025 2024
£m £m
The Group as a lessor
Less than one year
76.6
66.0
Between two and five years
147.1
141.0
More than five years
65.8
62.9
289.5
269.9
The Group leases its investment properties under operating leases. The weighted average length of lease at 31 March 2025
was 3.0 years (2024: 3.4 years). All investment properties, except those under development, generated rental income, and £nil
contingent rents were recognised in the year (2024: £nil).
180 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
26 Employee benefits
The Group operates a UK-funded approved defined contribution plan. The Group’s contribution for the year was £2.0 million
(2024: £1.8 million). The Group also contributes to a defined benefit final salary pension plan (the Plan), the assets of which
are held and managed by trustees separately from the assets of the Group. The Plan has been closed to new entrants since
April 2002, and will close to further accrual from 1 April 2025. The duration of the Plan is 14 years. The most recent actuarial
valuation of the Plan was conducted at 1 April 2023 by a qualified independent actuary using the projected unit method.
The Plan was valued using the following key actuarial assumptions:
2025 2024
% %
Discount rate
5.80
4.90
Expected rate of salary increases
4.10
4.10
RPI inflation
3.10
3.10
Rate of future pension increases
2.90
2.90
Life expectancy assumptions at age 65:
2025 2024
Years Years
Retiring today age 65 – male:female
23:25
23:25
Retiring in 25 years (age 40 today) – male:female
25:27
25:27
Changes in the present value of the pension obligation are as follows:
2025 2024
£m £m
Defined benefit obligation at 1 April
25.9
26.9
Service cost
0.2
0.2
Past service cost
(0.4)
–
Interest cost
1.2
1.2
Effect of changes in demographic assumptions
0.5
(1.9)
Effect of changes in financial assumptions
(2.7)
(0.5)
Effect of experience adjustments
–
1.3
Benefits paid
(1.1)
(1.3)
Present value of defined benefit obligation at 31 March
23.6
25.9
Changes to the fair value of the Plan assets are as follows:
2025 2024
£m £m
Fair value of the Plan assets at 1 April
30.8
31.0
Interest income
1.5
1.5
Actuarial loss
(3.1)
(1.0)
Employer contributions
0.3
0.6
Benefits paid
(1.1)
(1.3)
Fair value of the Plan assets at 31 March
28.4
30.8
Net pension asset
4.8
4.9
The loss recognised immediately in the Group statement of comprehensive income was £0.8 million (2024: £0.1 million gain).
The amount recognised in the balance sheet in respect of the Plan is as follows:
2025 2024
£m £m
Present value of unfunded obligations
(23.6)
(25.9)
Fair value of the Plan assets
28.4
30.8
Pension asset
4.8
4.9
181Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Group financial statements continued
26 Employee benefits continued
Amounts recognised as administration expenses in the income statement are as follows:
2025 2024
£m £m
Service cost
(0.2)
(0.2)
Past service cost
0.4
–
Net interest income
0.3
0.3
0.5
0.1
All equity and debt instruments have quoted prices in active markets. The fair value of the Plan assets at the balance sheet date
is analysed as follows:
2025 2024
£m £m
Cash
0.1
0.1
Equities
1.2
1.6
Bonds
25.8
27.6
Derivatives
1.3
1.5
28.4
30.8
Other than market and demographic risks, which are common to all retirement benefit schemes, there are no specific risks in the
relevant benefit schemes which the Group considers to be significant or unusual. Details on two of the more specific risks are below:
Changes in bond yields
Falling bond yields tend to increase the funding and accounting liabilities. However, the investment in corporate and government
bonds offers a degree of matching, i.e. the movement in assets arising from changes in bond yields partially matches the
movement in the funding or accounting liabilities. In this way, the exposure to movements in bond yields is reduced.
Life expectancy
The majority of the obligations are to provide a pension for the life of the member on retirement, so increases in life expectancy
will result in an increase in the liabilities. The inflation-linked nature of the majority of benefit payments increases the sensitivity
of the liabilities to changes in life expectancy.
The effect on the defined benefit obligation of changing the key assumptions, calculated using approximate methods based
on historical trends, is set out below:
2025 2024
£m £m
Discount rate -0.50%
25.2
26.9
Discount rate +0.50%
22.3
25.1
RPI inflation -0.25%
23.4
25.6
RPI inflation +0.25%
24.0
26.3
Post-retirement mortality assumption – one year age rating
24.6
26.9
Given the Plan surplus, the Group has agreed to pause contributions to the Plan. Accordingly, the Group expects to contribute £nil
(2024: £nil) to the Plan in the year ending 31 March 2026. The expected total benefit payments for the year ending 31 March 2026
is £1.0 million, rising to around £1.2 million per annum over the next five years. A total of around £6.9 million is expected to be paid
over the subsequent five-year period.
27 Reserves
The following describes the nature and purpose of each reserve within equity:
Share capital: The nominal value of the Company’s issued share capital, comprising 15
5
⁄
19
pence ordinary shares.
Share premium: Amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value, less directly attributable issue costs.
Capital redemption reserve: Amount equivalent to the nominal value of the Company’s own shares acquired as a result
of share buyback programmes.
Retained earnings: Cumulative net gains and losses recognised in the Group income statement together with other items
such as dividends.
Investment in own shares: Amount paid to acquire the Company’s own shares for its Employee Long Term Incentive Plan
less accounting charges.
182 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Independent auditors’ report to the
members of Great Portland Estates plc
Report on the audit of the financial statements
Opinion
In our opinion:
– Great Portland Estates plc’s group financial statements and company financial statements (the “financial statements”)
give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the company’s affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of the group’s
profit and the group’s cash flows for the year then ended;
– the group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting
standards as applied in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006;
– the company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted
Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 101 “Reduced Disclosure Framework”, and
applicable law); and
– the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
We have audited the financial statements, included within the Annual Report and Accounts (the “Annual Report”), which comprise:
the Group and Company balance sheets as at 31 March 2025; the Group income statement, the Group statement of comprehensive
income, the Group statement of cash flows, and the Group and Company statements of changes in equity for the year then ended;
and the notes to the financial statements, comprising material accounting policy information and other explanatory information.
Our opinion is consistent with our reporting to the Audit Committee.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs (UK)”) and applicable law.
Our responsibilities under ISAs (UK) are further described in the Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
section of our report. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis
for our opinion.
Independence
We remained independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of
the financial statements in the UK, which includes the FRC’s Ethical Standard, as applicable to listed public interest entities,
and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.
To the best of our knowledge and belief, we declare that non-audit services prohibited by the FRC’s Ethical Standard were
not provided.
Other than those disclosed in Note 5 to the financial statements, we have provided no non-audit services to the company
or its controlled undertakings in the period under audit.
Our audit approach
Overview
Audit scope
– We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give an opinion on the financial
statements as a whole.
– The group’s investment properties are held within a variety of subsidiary and joint venture entities. The group financial statements
consolidate the company and its subsidiaries and equity account for the group’s joint ventures. Due to the homogeneity of financial
information and processes, the group audit team conducted all work, with supplementary procedures performed at the
group level. These included audit procedures over the consolidation and consolidation adjustments, ensuring sufficient coverage
and appropriate audit evidence for our opinion on the group’s financial statements as a whole.
Key audit matters
– Valuation of investment property, either held directly or through joint ventures (group).
– Recoverability of investments and loans to subsidiaries and joint ventures (parent).
Materiality
– Overall group materiality: £30.3 million (2024: £24.7 million) based on 1% of total assets.
– Overall company materiality: £26.0 million (2024: £22.3 million) based on 1% of total assets.
– Performance materiality: £22.7 million (2024: £18.5 million) (group) and £19.5 million (2024: £16.7 million) (company).
– Specific group materiality: £1.1 million (2024: £0.89 million) based on 5% of the group’s adjusted profit before tax.
183Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Independent auditors’ report continued
The scope of our audit
As part of designing our audit, we determined materiality and assessed the risks of material misstatement in the financial statements.
Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in the auditors’ professional judgement, were of most significance in the audit
of the financial statements of the current period and include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement
(whether or not due to fraud) identified by the auditors, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall
audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team. These matters,
and any comments we make on the results of our procedures thereon, were addressed in the context of our audit of the
financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.
This is not a complete list of all risks identified by our audit.
The key audit matters below are consistent with last year.
Key audit matter How our audit addressed the key audit matter
Valuation of investment property, either held
directly or through joint ventures (group)
Refer to the Audit Committee Report and
the financial statements (including notes to
the financial statements; Note 1, Accounting
policies; Note 10, Investment property; and
Note 11, Investment in joint ventures).
We focused on the valuation of investment
properties because investment properties
represent the principal element of the net asset
value as disclosed in the Group balance sheet
in the financial statements and is an area of
significant estimation uncertainty. The portfolio
is held directly by the group and through joint
ventures.
Of this portfolio £2,455.5 million (2024: £1,911.0 million)
is held by subsidiaries within ‘Investment property’,
and £505.9 million (2024: £481.2 million) is held by
joint ventures within ‘Investment in joint ventures’.
The portfolio includes completed investment
properties and investment properties under
development. The valuation of the group’s
portfolio is inherently subjective due to,
among other factors, the individual nature of
each property, its location and the expected
future rentals for that particular property. The
significance of the estimates and judgements
involved, coupled with the fact that only a small
percentage difference in individual property
valuations, when aggregated, could result in
a material misstatement, warranted specific
audit focus in this area.
Valuations are carried out by third party
valuers CBRE (the ‘Valuers’). The Valuers were
engaged by the Directors, and performed their
work in accordance with the Royal Institution
of Chartered Surveyors (‘RICS’) Valuation –
Global Standards 2024. In determining the
valuation of a property, the Valuers take into
account property-specific information such
as the current tenancy agreements and rental
income. They apply assumptions for yields and
estimated market rent, which are influenced by
prevailing market yields and comparable market
transactions, to arrive at the final valuation.
Given the inherent subjectivity involved in the valuation of investment properties,
either held directly or through joint ventures, and therefore the need for deep
market knowledge when determining the most appropriate assumptions, and the
technicalities of the valuation methodology, we engaged our internal valuation
experts to assist us in our audit of this matter.
Assessing group’s external Valuers’ expertise and objectivity
We assessed the Valuers’ qualifications and expertise and read their terms of
engagement with the group to determine whether there were any matters that
might have affected their objectivity or may have imposed scope limitations
upon their work. We also considered fees and other contractual arrangements
that might exist between the group and the Valuers. We found no evidence
to suggest that the objectivity of the Valuers was compromised.
Testing the valuations assumptions and capital movement
We obtained and read the CBRE valuation reports covering all of the group’s
investment properties. We held meetings with management and the Valuers,
at which the valuations and the key assumptions therein were discussed. We
focused on the largest properties, properties under development and any outliers
(where the assumptions used and/or year on year capital value movement were
out of line with our range of assumptions developed using externally published
market data for the relevant sector). To verify that the valuation approach was
suitable for use in determining the carrying value for investment properties in
the financial statements, we:
– Confirmed that the valuation approach was in accordance with RICS standards;
– Obtained valuation details of every property held by the group and developed
ranges for each key valuation assumption or capital value movement, determined
by reference to published benchmarks and using our experience and knowledge of
the market. Compared the investment yields used by the Valuers with the expected
range of yields and the year on year capital movement to our expected range;
– Assessed the reasonableness of other assumptions that are not readily
comparable with published benchmarks, such as Estimated Rental Value;
– For developments valued using the residual valuation method, we obtained
the development appraisals and assessed the reasonableness of the Valuers’ key
assumptions. This included comparing the yield to comparable market benchmarks,
comparing the costs to complete estimates to development plans and contracts,
and considering the reasonableness of other assumptions that are not so readily
comparable with published benchmarks, such as developers’ profit; and
– With the support of our internal valuation experts, we also questioned the Valuers
as to the extent to which yields and expected rental values used in deriving
their valuations took into account the impact of climate change and related
ESG considerations.
184 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Key audit matter How our audit addressed the key audit matter
Valuation of investment property, either held
directly or through joint ventures (group)
continued
For developments, the residual appraisal
method is used, by estimating the fair value
of the completed project using a capitalisation
method less estimated costs to completion
and a risk premium.
In addition to the above, where assumptions were outside the expected range
or otherwise appeared unusual, and/or valuations showed unexpected movements,
we undertook further investigations and, when necessary, held further discussions
with the Valuers and obtained evidence to support explanations received. The
supporting evidence and valuation commentaries provided by the Valuers, enabled
us to consider the property specific factors that had or may have had an impact
on value, including recent comparable transactions where appropriate.
Information and standing data
We agreed the amounts per the valuation reports to the accounting records and
through to the financial statements. We performed testing on the data inputs
underpinning the investment properties by agreeing the inputs to the underlying
property records on a sample basis, to satisfy ourselves of the accuracy of the
property information supplied to the Valuers by management. For operating
properties, we agreed tenancy information to supporting evidence on a sample
basis. For investment properties under development, we confirmed that the
supporting information for construction contracts and budgets was consistent with
the group’s records, for example by inspecting construction contracts. For these
properties, capitalised expenditure was tested on a sample basis to invoices,
and budgeted costs to complete were compared to supporting evidence.
Overall outcome
We have no matters to report in respect of our work over the valuation
of investment property.
Recoverability of investments and loans
to subsidiaries and joint ventures (parent)
Refer to the financial statements (including notes
to the financial statements; Note 1, Accounting
policies; and Note iii, Fixed asset investments).
The company has investments in subsidiaries of
£1,409.4 million (2024: £1,240.7 million) and loans to
subsidiaries of £956.0 million (2024: £761.2 million)
at 31 March 2025. The company has investments
in joint ventures of £0.1 million (2024: £0.1 million)
and loans to joint ventures of £207.6 million (2024:
£213.5 million) at 31 March 2025. This is following
the recognition of a £4.7 million (2024: £11.2 million)
provision for impairment in investments and loans
to subsidiaries, and a £0.0 million (2024: £0.0 million)
provision for impairment investments and loans
to joint ventures in the year.
The company’s accounting policy for investments
and loans is to hold them at cost less any
impairment. Impairment of loans is calculated
in accordance with International Financial
Reporting Standard 9 (Financial Instruments),
where expected credit losses are considered
to be the excess of the company’s loan to a
subsidiary or joint venture over the subsidiary
or joint venture net asset value. Investments in
subsidiaries and joint ventures are assessed for
impairment in line with International Accounting
Standard 36 (Impairment of Assets).
Given the inherent estimation and complexity
in assessing the carrying value of a subsidiary or
joint venture company, and the expected credit
loss of loan receivables, this was identified as a
key audit matter.
We assessed the accounting policy for investments and loans to subsidiaries and joint
ventures to ensure they were compliant with FRS 101 “Reduced Disclosure Framework”.
We obtained the directors’ impairment assessments for the recoverability of
investments in and loans to subsidiaries and joint ventures as at 31 March 2025.
We verified that the methodology used by the directors in arriving at the carrying
value of each subsidiary and joint venture, and the expected credit loss provision
for loan receivables, was compliant with applicable accounting standards.
We identified the key estimate within the assessment for impairment of both
the investments and loans to subsidiaries and joint ventures to be the underlying
valuation of investment property held by the subsidiaries and joint ventures.
For details of our procedures over investment property valuations please refer
to the related group key audit matter above.
Overall outcome
We have no matters to report in respect of our work over the recoverability
of investments and loans to subsidiaries and joint ventures.
185Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Independent auditors’ report continued
How we tailored the audit scope
We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give an opinion on the financial
statements as a whole, taking into account the structure of the group and the company, the accounting processes and controls,
and the industry in which they operate.
The group operates a common IT environment, processes and controls across all reported segments. In establishing the overall
approach to our audit, we assessed the risk of material misstatement, taking into account the nature, likelihood and potential
magnitude of any misstatement. Following this assessment, we applied professional judgement to determine the extent of
testing required over each balance in the financial statements.
The group’s investment properties are held within a variety of subsidiary and joint venture entities. The group financial
statements consolidate the company, its subsidiaries and equity account for the group’s joint ventures. Due to the homogeneity
of financial information and processes, the group audit team conducted all work, with supplementary procedures performed
at the group level. These included audit procedures over the consolidation and consolidation adjustments, ensuring sufficient
coverage and appropriate audit evidence for our opinion on the group’s financial statements as a whole.
In respect of the audit of the company, the group audit team performed a full scope statutory audit.
The impact of climate risk on our audit
In planning our audit, we made enquiries with management to understand the extent of the potential impact of climate change
risk on the financial statements. Our evaluation of this conclusion included challenging key judgements and estimates in areas where
we considered that there was greatest potential for climate change impact. We particularly considered how climate change risks
would impact the assumptions made in the valuation of investment property as explained in our key audit matter above. We also
considered the consistency of the disclosures in relation to climate change made within the Annual Report, the financial statements
and the knowledge obtained from our audit. We assessed the consideration of the cost of delivering the group’s climate change
and sustainability strategy within the going concern and viability forecasts.
Materiality
The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. We set certain quantitative thresholds for materiality.
These, together with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit and the nature, timing and
extent of our audit procedures on the individual financial statement line items and disclosures and in evaluating the effect
of misstatements, both individually and in aggregate on the financial statements as a whole.
Based on our professional judgement, we determined materiality for the financial statements as a whole as follows:
Financial statements – group Financial statements – company
Overall materiality £30.3 million (2024: £24.7 million). £26.0 million (2024: £22.3 million).
How we determined it 1% of total assets. 1% of total assets.
Rationale for
benchmark applied
The primary measurement attribute of the group
is the carrying value of investment property.
On this basis, we set an overall group materiality
level based on total assets.
The primary measurement attribute of the company
is the carrying value of investments in subsidiaries.
On this basis, we set an overall company materiality
level based on total assets.
In addition, we set a specific group materiality level of £1.1 million (2024: £0.89 million) which is calculated based on 5% of adjusted
profit before tax, stated after removing revaluation of investment properties (whether held directly or through joint ventures),
fair value movements on derivatives, fair value movements on other investments and debt cancellation costs.
We use performance materiality to reduce to an appropriately low level the probability that the aggregate of uncorrected and
undetected misstatements exceeds overall materiality. Specifically, we use performance materiality in determining the scope
of our audit and the nature and extent of our testing of account balances, classes of transactions and disclosures, for example
in determining sample sizes. Our performance materiality was 75% (2024: 75%) of overall materiality, amounting to £22.7 million
(2024: £18.5 million) for the group financial statements and £19.5 million (2024: £16.7 million) for the company financial statements.
In determining the performance materiality, we considered a number of factors – the history of misstatements, risk assessment
and aggregation risk and the effectiveness of controls – and concluded that an amount in the middle of our normal range
was appropriate.
We agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report to them misstatements identified during our audit above £1.5 million
(group audit) (2024: £1.2 million) and £1.3 million (company audit) (2024: £1.1 million) as well as misstatements below those
amounts that, in our view, warranted reporting for qualitative reasons.
In addition we agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report to them misstatements identified during our group audit
above £0.05 million (2024: £0.04 million) for misstatements related to adjusted profit before tax within the financial statements,
as well as misstatements below that amount that, in our view, warranted reporting for qualitative reasons.
186 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Conclusions relating to going concern
Our evaluation of the directors’ assessment of the group’s and the company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern
basis of accounting included:
– Procedures to identify events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability to continue as a going concern
and whether or not a material uncertainty related to going concern exists;
– Obtaining the directors’ assessment of going concern and assessing the impact and the basis for the severe, but plausible,
downside scenarios and the basis for the downside stress scenarios that have been applied;
– Evaluation and corroboration of management’s significant assumptions used to assess going concern, including whether
or not they align with our understanding of the entity and other relevant areas of the entity’s business activities;
– Considering the appropriateness of the mitigating actions available to management in the event of the downside
scenario materialising. Specifically, we focused on whether these actions are within the group’s control and are achievable; and
– Assessing the group and company’s liquidity and whether the entity has adequately disclosed all required going concern
events and conditions.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that,
individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group’s and the company’s ability to continue as a going concern
for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the
preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
However, because not all future events or conditions can be predicted, this conclusion is not a guarantee as to the group’s
and the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
In relation to the directors’ reporting on how they have applied the UK Corporate Governance Code, we have nothing material
to add or draw attention to in relation to the directors’ statement in the financial statements about whether the directors
considered it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections
of this report.
Reporting on other information
The other information comprises all of the information in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our auditors’
report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover
the other information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated
in this report, any form of assurance thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so,
consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained
in the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify an apparent material inconsistency or material
misstatement, we are required to perform procedures to conclude whether there is a material misstatement of the financial
statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that
there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report
based on these responsibilities.
With respect to the Strategic Report and Report of the Directors, we also considered whether the disclosures required by the
UK Companies Act 2006 have been included.
Based on our work undertaken in the course of the audit, the Companies Act 2006 requires us also to report certain opinions
and matters as described below.
Strategic report and Report of the Directors
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit, the information given in the Strategic report and
Report of the Directors for the year ended 31 March 2025 is consistent with the financial statements and has been prepared
in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and company and their environment obtained in the course of the
audit, we did not identify any material misstatements in the Strategic report and Report of the Directors.
Directors’ Remuneration
In our opinion, the part of the Directors’ remuneration report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with
the Companies Act 2006.
187Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Independent auditors’ report continued
Corporate governance statement
The Listing Rules require us to review the directors’ statements in relation to going concern, longer-term viability and that part of the
corporate governance statement relating to the company’s compliance with the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code
specified for our review. Our additional responsibilities with respect to the corporate governance statement as other information
are described in the Reporting on other information section of this report.
Based on the work undertaken as part of our audit, we have concluded that each of the following elements of the corporate
governance statement is materially consistent with the financial statements and our knowledge obtained during the audit,
and we have nothing material to add or draw attention to in relation to:
– The directors’ confirmation that they have carried out a robust assessment of the emerging and principal risks;
– The disclosures in the Annual Report that describe those principal risks, what procedures are in place to identify emerging
risks and an explanation of how these are being managed or mitigated;
– The directors’ statement in the financial statements about whether they considered it appropriate to adopt the going concern
basis of accounting in preparing them, and their identification of any material uncertainties to the group’s and company’s
ability to continue to do so over a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of the financial statements;
– The directors’ explanation as to their assessment of the group’s and company’s prospects, the period this assessment covers
and why the period is appropriate; and
– The directors’ statement as to whether they have a reasonable expectation that the company will be able to continue in
operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the period of its assessment, including any related disclosures drawing
attention to any necessary qualifications or assumptions.
Our review of the directors’ statement regarding the longer-term viability of the group and company was substantially less in
scope than an audit and only consisted of making inquiries and considering the directors’ process supporting their statement;
checking that the statement is in alignment with the relevant provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code; and considering
whether the statement is consistent with the financial statements and our knowledge and understanding of the group and
company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit.
In addition, based on the work undertaken as part of our audit, we have concluded that each of the following elements
of the corporate governance statement is materially consistent with the financial statements and our knowledge obtained
during the audit:
– The directors’ statement that they consider the Annual Report, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and understandable,
and provides the information necessary for the members to assess the group’s and company’s position, performance,
business model and strategy;
– The section of the Annual Report that describes the review of effectiveness of risk management and internal control systems; and
– The section of the Annual Report describing the work of the Audit Committee.
We have nothing to report in respect of our responsibility to report when the directors’ statement relating to the company’s
compliance with the Code does not properly disclose a departure from a relevant provision of the Code specified under the
Listing Rules for review by the auditors.
Responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit
Responsibilities of the directors for the financial statements
As explained more fully in the Directors’ responsibilities statement, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the
financial statements in accordance with the applicable framework and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view.
The directors are also responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial
statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the group’s and the company’s ability to
continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis
of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the group or the company or to cease operations, or have no
realistic alternative but to do so.
188 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors’ report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance
is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a
material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually
or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of
these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with
our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent
to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Based on our understanding of the group and industry, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and
regulations related to compliance with the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) status Part 12 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010
and UK regulatory principles, such as those governed by the Financial Conduct Authority, and we considered the extent to
which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations
that have a direct impact on the financial statements such as Companies Act 2006. We evaluated management’s incentives
and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls), and
determined that the principal risks were related to posting inappropriate journal entries to increase revenue, and management
bias in accounting estimates and judgemental areas of the financial statements such as the valuation of investment property,
either held directly or through joint ventures. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:
– Discussions with management and internal audit, including consideration of known or suspected instances of non-compliance
with laws and regulations and fraud, and review of the reports made by internal audit;
– Understanding management’s internal controls designed to prevent and detect irregularities;
– Reviewing the group’s litigation register in so far as it related to non-compliance with laws and regulations and fraud;
– Reviewing relevant meeting minutes, including those of the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee;
– Designing audit procedures to incorporate unpredictability around the nature, timing and extent of our testing;
– Reviewing tax compliance with the involvement of our tax specialists in the audit;
– Challenging assumptions and judgements made by management in their significant areas of estimation including
procedures relating to the valuation of investment properties as described in the related key audit matters above; and
– Identifying and testing journal entries, in particular any journal entries posted with unusual account combinations.
There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above. We are less likely to become aware of instances of
non-compliance with laws and regulations that are not closely related to events and transactions reflected in the financial
statements. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one
resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations,
or through collusion.
Our audit testing might include testing complete populations of certain transactions and balances, possibly using data
auditing techniques. However, it typically involves selecting a limited number of items for testing, rather than testing complete
populations. We will often seek to target particular items for testing based on their size or risk characteristics. In other cases,
we will use audit sampling to enable us to draw a conclusion about the population from which the sample is selected.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the FRC’s website at:
www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditors’ report.
Use of this report
This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and only for the company’s members as a body in accordance with
Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these opinions, accept or assume
responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save
where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.
189Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Independent auditors’ report continued
Other required reporting
Companies Act 2006 exception reporting
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:
– we have not obtained all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
– adequate accounting records have not been kept by the company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received
from branches not visited by us; or
– certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
– the company financial statements and the part of the Directors’ remuneration report to be audited are not in agreement
with the accounting records and returns.
We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility.
Appointment
Following the recommendation of the Audit Committee, we were appointed by the members on 6 July 2023 to audit the financial
statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 and subsequent financial periods. The period of total uninterrupted engagement
is two years, covering the years ended 31 March 2024 to 31 March 2025.
Other matter
The company is required by the Financial Conduct Authority Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules to include these
financial statements in an annual financial report prepared under the structured digital format required by DTR 4.1.15R – 4.1.18R
and filed on the National Storage Mechanism of the Financial Conduct Authority. This auditors’ report provides no assurance
over whether the structured digital format annual financial report has been prepared in accordance with those requirements.
Saira Choudhry
(Senior Statutory Auditor)
For and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
London
20 May 2025
190
Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Notes
2025
£m
2024
£m
Non-current assets
Fixed asset investments iii 1,409.4 1,240.7
Amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings 956.0 761.2
Amounts owed by joint ventures 207.6 213.5
Derivative financial instruments 17 – 0.4
2,573.0 2,215.8
Current assets
Other debtors 6.2 6.6
Deferred tax vi – –
Cash at bank and short-term deposits 18.6 6.0
24.8 12.6
Total assets 2,597.8 2,228.4
Current liabilities iv (930.7) (1,205.0)
Non-current liabilities
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings v (848.0) (565.4)
(848.0) (565.4)
Total liabilities (1,778.7) (1,770.4)
Net assets 819.1 458.0
Capital and reserves
Share capital 20 62.0 38.7
Share premium account 358.3 46.0
Capital redemption reserve 326.7 326.7
Retained earnings 70.3 41.0
Investment in own shares 21 1.8 5.6
Shareholders’ funds 819.1 458.0
Notes: The profit within the Company financial statements was £58.8 million (2024: £47.8 million). References in roman numerals refer
to the notes to the Company financial statements, references in numbers refer to the notes to the Group financial statements.
The financial statements of Great Portland Estates plc (registered number: 00596137) were approved by the Board on
20 May 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
Toby Courtauld Nick Sanderson
Chief Executive Chief Financial & Operating Officer
Company balance sheet
At 31 March 2025
191Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes
Share
capital
£m
Share
premium
account
£m
Capital
redemption
reserve
£m
Retained
earnings
£m
Investment
in own
shares
£m
Total
equity
£m
Total equity at 1 April 2024 38.7 46.0 326.7 41.0 5.6 458.0
Profit for the year and total
comprehensive expense – – – 58.8 – 58.8
Proceeds from 3 for 5 rights issue 23.3 327.0 – – – 350.3
Costs of issue – (14.7) – – – (14.7)
Purchase of own shares – – – – (5.7) (5.7)
Dividends to shareholders 24 – – – (31.8) – (31.8)
Employee Long Term Incentive Plan charge 21 – – – – 4.2 4.2
Transfer to retained earnings 21 – – – 2.3 (2.3) –
Total equity at 31 March 2025 62.0 358.3 326.7 70.3 1.8 819.1
At 31 March 2025, the Company had unaudited realised profits available for distribution of approximately £59 million.
Company statement of changes in equity
For the year ended 31 March 2024
Notes
Share
capital
£m
Share
premium
account
£m
Capital
redemption
reserve
£m
Retained
earnings
£m
Investment
in own
shares
£m
Total
equity
£m
Total equity at 1 April 2023 38.7 46.0 326.7 119.5 2.8 533.7
Loss for the year and total
comprehensive expense – – – (47.8) – (47.8)
Dividends to shareholders 24 – – – (31.9) – (31.9)
Employee Long Term Incentive Plan charge 21 – – – – 4.0 4.0
Transfer to retained earnings 21 – – – 1.2 (1.2) –
Total equity at 31 March 2024 38.7 46.0 326.7 41.0 5.6 458.0
Company statement of changes in equity
For the year ended 31 March 2025
192 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Notes forming part of the Company
financial statements
i Accounting policies
Accounting convention
Great Portland Estates plc is a public company limited by shares incorporated and domiciled in the United Kingdom
(England and Wales). The address of the registered office is given on page 204. The financial statements have been prepared
on the historical cost basis except for the remeasurement of certain financial instruments to fair value. Historical cost is
generally based on the fair value of the consideration given in exchange for the goods and services. There were no significant
judgements made or critical estimates applied in the preparation of the financial statements.
Disclosure exemptions adopted
The separate financial statements of the Company are presented as required by the Companies Act 2006. The Company meets
the definition of a qualifying entity under FRS 100 (Financial Reporting Standard 100) issued by the Financial Reporting Council.
Accordingly, the financial statements have therefore been prepared in accordance with FRS 101 (Financial Reporting Standard 101)
Reduced Disclosure Framework as issued by the FRC incorporating the Amendments to FRS 101 issued by the FRC in July 2015
and July 2016.
In preparing these financial statements, Great Portland Estates plc has taken advantage of all disclosure exemptions conferred
by FRS 101. Therefore these financial statements do not include:
– certain comparative information as otherwise required by the United Kingdom adopted international accounting standards;
– certain disclosures regarding the Company’s capital;
– a statement of cash flows;
– certain disclosures in respect of financial instruments;
– the effect of future accounting standards not yet adopted; and
– disclosure of related party transactions with wholly-owned members of the Group.
The above disclosure exemptions have been adopted because equivalent disclosures are included in the consolidated Group
accounts into which Great Portland Estates plc is consolidated.
Going concern
The Directors also considered the Company’s net current liability position as at 31 March 2025, which is primarily driven by
amounts owed to subsidiaries of £921.9 which are repayable on demand. There is no expectation or intention that these amounts
will be called due within the next 12 months. The Company has access to £376 million of undrawn facilities and cash, which
provides the Directors with a reasonable expectation that the Company will be able to meet these current liabilities as they
fall due.
Subsidiary undertakings and joint ventures
The Company is a holding and financing company for the Great Portland Estates plc Group. Shares in subsidiary undertakings
and joint ventures are carried at amounts equal to their original cost less any provision for impairment.
Amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings and joint ventures are expected to remain outstanding for the foreseeable future and
therefore deemed long term in nature and classified as non-current assets and are stated at amortised cost including a provision
for expected credit losses. For the purposes of impairment assessment, amounts to subsidiary undertakings and joint ventures
are considered low credit risk and, therefore, the Company measures the provision at an amount equal to 12-month expected
credit losses. Provision for expected credit losses in the current and prior year are immaterial.
Other
Accounting policies for share-based payments, other investment, deferred tax and financial instruments are the same as those
of the Group and are set out on pages 156 to 159.
The Company participates in a Group defined benefit scheme which is the legal responsibility of Great Portland Estates Services
Limited as the sponsoring employer. There is no contractual agreement or stated policy for charging the net defined benefit
cost. In accordance with IAS 19 (Revised 2011), the Company accounts for the contributions to the scheme as if it were a defined
contribution scheme. Details of the Group’s pension plan can be found on pages 181 to 182.
The auditor’s remuneration for audit and other services is disclosed in note 5 to the Group accounts.
ii Profit attributable to members of the parent undertaking
As permitted by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, the Company has not presented its own profit and loss account.
The profit dealt within the financial statements of the Company was £58.8 million (2024: loss £47.8 million). The employees
of the Company are the Directors and the Company Secretary. Full disclosure of the Directors’ remuneration can be found
on pages 126 to 145.
193Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Company financial statements continued
iii Fixed asset investments
Investment in
joint ventures
£m
Shares in
subsidiary
undertakings
£m
Total
£m
At 1 April 2023 0.1 1,240.8 1,240.9
Additions – 11.0 11.0
Impairment – (11.2) (11.2)
31 March 2024/1 April 2024 0.1 1,240.6 1,240.7
Additions – 173.4 173.4
Impairment – (4.7) (4.7)
31 March 2025 0.1 1,409.3 1,409.4
Shares in subsidiary undertakings and joint ventures are carried at cost less any provision for impairment. The historical cost
of the shares in subsidiary undertakings and joint ventures at 31 March 2025 was £1,409.4 million (2024: £1,240.7 million).
The subsidiaries of the Company at 31 March 2025 were:
Direct subsidiaries
The Company has a 100% interest in the ordinary share capital of the following entities:
Principal activity Principal activity
Great Portland Estates Services
Limited (00517550)
Property management G.P.E. (St Thomas Street) Limited
(05593274)
Property investment
Collin Estates Limited*
(00349259)
Property investment J.L.P. Investment Company Limited
(00459857)
Property investment
Courtana Investments Limited
(00764696)
Property investment Knighton Estates Limited
(00379493)
Property investment
G.P.E. (Bermondsey Street) Limited
(05593239)
Property investment Pontsarn Investments Limited
(00611070)
Property investment
73/77 Oxford Street Limited
(00628026)
Property investment Portman Square Properties Holdings
Limited (06049187)
Holding company
GPE (Brook Street) Limited*
(09144095)
Property investment GPE Pension Trustee Limited
(05406955)
Corporate trustee
GPE (GHS) Limited*
(08737134)
Property investment G.P.E. (Marcol House) Limited
(07046709)
Holding company
Gresse Street Limited*
(05279893)
Property investment G.P.E. (Rathbone Place 1) Limited
(0774083)
Property investment
GPE (Dufour’s Place) Limited*
(14078313)
Property investment GPE St Andrew Street Limited*
(14085827)
Property investment
GPE (Soho Square) Limited
(15088898)
Property investment GPE (Piccadilly) Limited
(14832783)
Property investment
GPE (Bramah House) Limited*
(14790117)
Property investment GPE (135-141 Wardour Street) Limited*
(14780172)
Property investment
G.P.E. Construction Limited*
(04936146)
Development
management
G.P.E. (Rathbone Place 2) Limited*
(07754121)
Property investment
The Rathbone Place Partnership
(G.P. 1) Limited (07740829)
Property investment G.P.E. (Rathbone Place 3) Limited*
(07754130)
Property investment
King Sloane Properties Limited
(22867/OE027819)
Property investment Platine Holdings Limited
(56153)
Property investment
* Great Portland Estates plc has guaranteed the liabilities of these subsidiaries under section 479A and C of the Companies Act 2006 (as amended).
As such, these subsidiaries will take advantage of the audit exemption set out within section 479A for the year ended 31 March 2025.
194 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
iii Fixed asset investments continued
Indirect subsidiaries
Principal activity Principal activity
The Rathbone Place Partnership
(G.P. 2) Limited (07742507)
Property investment Portman Square Properties Limited
(03872261)
Property investment
The Rathbone Place Limited
Partnership** (LP014603)
Property investment G.P.E. (Newman Street) Limited*
(07796204)
Property investment
Rathbone Square No. 1 Limited
(04122795)
Property investment Rathbone Square No. 2 Limited
(04122784)
Property investment
GPE (Wells Street) Limited*
(16022902)
Property investment GPE (Whittington House) Limited*
(16085942)
Property investment
The Newman Street Unit Trust Property investment Marcol House Jersey Limited
(95425)
Property investment
Cypress Dynasty Limited
(1846538)
Property investment
* Great Portland Estates plc has guaranteed the liabilities of these subsidiaries under section 479A and C of the Companies Act 2006 (as amended).
As such, these subsidiaries will take advantage of the audit exemption set out within section 479A for the year ended 31 March 2025.
** The Group has taken advantage of the exemption, which is conferred by The Partnerships (Accounts) Regulations 2008, for preparing financial statements
for The Rathbone Place Limited Partnership.
Directly held joint venture entities
Principal activity Principal activity
The Great Victoria Partnership
(G.P.) Limited (05216728)
Property investment The Great Victoria Partnership
(G.P.) (No. 2) Limited (05375913)
Property investment
Great Ropemaker Partnership
(G.P.) Limited (06526534)
Property investment GHS (GP) Limited
(114189)
Property investment
Indirectly held joint venture entities
Principal activity Principal activity
Great Victoria Property Limited
(05208609)
Property investment The Great Victoria Partnership
(LP009971)
Property investment
The Great Victoria Partnership (No. 2)
(LP010380)
Property investment Great Victoria Property (No. 2) Limited
(05385912)
Property investment
Great Ropemaker Property Limited
(06526552)
Property investment The Great Ropemaker Partnership
(LP012802)
Property investment
Great Ropemaker Property
(Nominee 1) Limited (07830921)
Property investment Great Ropemaker Property
(Nominee 2) Limited (07830923)
Property investment
The GHS Limited Partnership
(1697)
Property investment GPE (Hanover Square) Limited
(03723180)
Property investment
14 Brook Street Management
Company Limited (12938268)
Property investment GHS (Nominee) Limited
(114197)
Property investment
All of the above companies are registered at 33 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PW and operate in England and Wales
except for: Marcol House Jersey Limited, GHS (GP) Limited, GHS (Nominee) Limited and The GHS Limited Partnership, which are
registered at 44 Esplanade, St Helier, Jersey, JE4 9WG, The Newman Street Unit Trust, which is registered at 11 Old Jewry, London,
EC2R 8DU, King Sloane Properties Limited, which is registered in One Welches, Welches, St. Thomas BB22025, Barbados and
Platine Holdings Limited, which is registered at Trust Company Complex, Ajeltake Road, Ajeltake Island, Majuro, Marshall Islands,
MH 96960. Cypress Dynasty which is registered at Wickhams Cay II, Road Town, Tortola, VG1110, British Virgin Islands.
Great Portland Estates plc is the ultimate parent undertaking of the GPE Group.
195Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Financial statements
Notes forming part of the Company financial statements continued
iv Current liabilities
2025
£m
2024
£m
Amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings 921.9 1,017.6
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings – 175.0
Other creditors 2.0 –
Accruals 6.8 12.4
930.7 1,205.0
Interest on intercompany debt is charged at variable rates based on the weighted average interest rate of Group third-party debt.
Amounts are unsecured and are repayable on demand.
v Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
2025
£m
2024
£m
Bank loans 330.5 294.4
Debentures 21.9 22.0
Sustainable sterling bond 246.5 –
Private placement notes 249.1 249.0
848.0 565.4
At 31 March 2025, property with a carrying value of £114.8 million (2024: £107.0 million) was secured under the first mortgage
debenture stock. Further details of the Company’s loans and borrowings can be found on notes 16 and 17 of the Group accounts.
vi Deferred tax
1 April
2024
£m
Recognised in
the income
statement
£m
Recognised
in equity
£m
31 March
2025
£m
Net deferred tax asset in respect of other temporary differences – – – –
– – – –
The Company has not recognised further deferred tax assets in respect of gross temporary differences arising from the
following items, because it is uncertain whether future taxable profits will arise against which these assets can be utilised:
2025
£m
2024
£m
Revenue losses 38.1 30.7
Share-based payments 3.2 2.7
41.3 33.4
196 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
In this section:
198 Five-year record
199 Our properties and customers
201 Portfolio statistics
202 Glossary
204 Shareholders’ information
205 Financial calendar
Other
information
(unaudited)
NEW
ACQUISITION
One Chapel Place, W1
We acquired the building with existing plans
to develop the site when the leases expire
in 2028 (pictured). We will be improving the
design and seeking planning permission for
a substantial development in this prime site.
197Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Other information
Based on the Group financial statements for the years ended 31 March
Balance sheet
2021
£m
2022
£m
2023
£m
2024
£m
2025
£m
Property portfolio 1,894.5 2,144.4 1,922.2 1,929.2 2,455.5
Joint ventures 626.4 582.8 538.8 491.3 507.2
Loans and borrowings (488.6) (531.2) (458.5) (740.4) (848.0)
Other liabilities (60.7) (83.1) (83.9) (97.1) (114.0)
Net assets 1,971.6 2,112.9 1,918.6 1,583.0 2,000.7
Financed by
£m £m £m £m £m
Issued share capital 38.7 38.7 38.7 38.7 62.0
Reserves 1,932.9 2,074.2 1,879.9 1,544.3 1,938.7
Total equity 1,971.6 2,112.9 1,918.6 1,583.0 2,000.7
Net assets per share 779p 835p 757p 521p 496p
EPRA NTA 779p 835p 757p 520p 494p
Income statement
£m £m £m £m £m
Revenue 88.5 84.2 91.2 95.4 94.2
Cost of sales (24.7) (30.1) (32.2) (33.3) (35.1)
63.8 54.1 59.0 62.1 59.1
Administration expenses (25.2) (35.0) (38.3) (42.3) (40.0)
Other income – – – – 0.6
Estimated credit loss (7.7) (4.1) (0.8) (0.1) (0.2)
Development management losses (0.1) (0.4) (0.1) – –
Operating profit before surplus/(deficit) from property
and results of joint ventures
30.8 14.6 19.8 19.7 19.5
Surplus/(deficit) on investment property (156.8) 107.9 (145.0) (267.3) 83.2
(Deficit)/surplus on revaluation of investments – – 0.1 (0.2) (0.4)
Share of results of joint ventures (76.2) 45.9 (33.4) (46.7) 21.8
Operating profit/(loss) (202.2) 168.4 (158.5) (294.5) 124.1
Finance income 8.0 7.4 6.0 6.1 7.2
Finance costs (7.8) (9.1) (11.5) (17.7) (13.1)
Fair value loss on derivatives – – – (1.7) (0.4)
Profit/(loss) before tax (202.0) 166.7 (164.0) (307.8) 117.8
Tax 0.1 0.5 0.1 – (1.8)
Profit/(loss) for the year (201.9) 167.2 (163.9) (307.8) 116.0
Earnings/(loss) per share – basic (79.8)p 66.1p (64.8)p (121.7)p 30.2p
Earnings/(loss) per share – diluted (79.8)p 66.0p (64.8)p (121.7)p 30.1p
EPRA earnings per share – diluted 15.8p 10.8p 9.5p 7.1p 5.2p
Dividend (£m) 31.8 31.9 31.9 31.9 31.8
Five-year record
198 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Our properties and customers
In value order (GPE share)
Location Tenure
Rent roll
(GPE share)
£
Net
internal area
sq ftOwnership Property name
£200 million plus
50% Hanover Square Rest of West End FH/LH 12,575,300 220,500
100% 1 Newman Street & 70/88 Oxford Street Noho FH 11,499,600 121,300
£100 million – £200 million
100% 2 Aldermanbury Square City FH – 322,600
100% Wells & More Noho LH 6,770,200 122,200
100% Kent House Noho FH 7,524,600 59,300
100% Elsley House Noho FH 4,672,500 64,900
100% City Tower City LH 7,168,400 138,200
£75 million – £100 million
100% 170 Piccadilly Rest of West End LH 1,350,000 41,100
100% Walmar House Noho LH 4,485,000 56,500
100% 30 Duke Street Rest of West End LH – 70,900
50% 200 & 214 Gray’s Inn Road Midtown LH 2,878,500 284,800
£50 million – £75 million
100% Soho Square Estate Rest of West End FH 1,131,100 55,400
100% Empire House Rest of West End LH 5,312,700 45,700
100% Minerva House City FH 3,000 166,800
100% SIX St Andrew Street Midtown FH 2,171,300 47,800
100% 31/34 Alfred Place Noho LH 2,854,300 41,700
100% 141 Wardour Street Rest of West End FH 600,000 33,600
100% The Hickman City FH 3,928,400 74,900
100% Whittington House Noho LH – 74,500
100% Woolyard Southwark FH 5,741,300 46,300
100% One Chapel Place Noho FH 2,471,500 34,200
100% Carrington House, 126/130 Regent Street Rest of West End LH 3,343,700 30,900
100% 35 Portman Square Noho LH 5,553,000 73,400
100% 10/16 Dufour’s Place Southwark FH 4,343,800 24,500
£30 million – £50 million
100% St Thomas Yard, 14/20 St Thomas Street Southwark FH 3,900,900 98,000
100% 54/56 Jermyn Street Rest of West End LH 2,181,200 28,700
100% Challenger House City FH 2,657,600 59,200
50% Mount Royal, 508/540 Oxford Street Noho LH 2,951,300 95,100
100% The Courtyard Noho LH 436,500 63,600
100% Pollen House Rest of West End LH 2,406,800 21,200
199Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Other information
In value order (GPE share)
Location Tenure
Rent roll
(GPE share)
£
Net
internal area
sq ftOwnership Property name
£10 million – £30 million
50% 103/113 Regent Street Rest of West End LH 2,515,400 56,900
100% 7/15 Gresse Street Noho LH – 43,100
100% 19/23 Wells Street Noho LH 1,681,000 18,800
100% Orchard Court Noho LH 708,100 47,900
100% Foxglove House Rest of West End LH 2,443,100 18,100
50% Elm Yard Midtown FH 2,012,300 49,400
100% Bramah House Southwark FH 776,100 16,000
100% Kingsland House, 122/124 Regent Street Rest of West End LH 1,059,000 8,700
Below £10 million
100% Cathedral Street Southbank FH 332,000 6,400
100% 23/24 Newman Street Noho FH 292,900 25,200
100% 183/190 Tottenham Court Road Noho LH 451,300 12,000
FH = Freehold or Virtual Freehold.
LH = Leasehold.
Top ten customers
Customer Use
Rent roll
(our share)
£m
% of rent roll
(our share)
1 Kohlberg Kravis Roberts LLP Office 4.4 3.5
2 Runway East Office 4.4 3.5
3 Glencore UK Limited Office 3.1 2.5
4 Heineken UK Limited Office 2.9 2.4
5 Exane SA Office 2.8 2.3
6 Richemont UK Limited Office 2.7 2.2
7 Aldgate Opco Limited Hotel 2.7 2.2
8 Uniqlo Retail 2.5 2.0
9 Independent Television News Limited Office 2.1 1.7
10 New Look Office 1.9 1.6
Total 29.5 23.9
Our properties and customers continued
200 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
Rental income
Wholly-owned Share of joint ventures
Rent roll
£m
Reversionary
potential
£m
Rental
values
£m
Rent roll
£m
Reversionary
potential
£m
Rental
values
£m
Total rental
values
£m
London North of Oxford Street Office 40.7 5.2 45.9 – – – 45.9
Retail 8.7 1.1 9.8 3.0 0.1 3.1 12.9
Rest of West End Office 16.0 2.8 18.8 9.7 2.5 12.2 31.0
Retail 8.2 0.1 8.3 5.4 0.3 5.7 14.0
Total West End 73.6 9.2 82.8 18.1 2.9 21.0 103.8
City, Midtown and Southwark Office 23.7 2.2 25.9 4.8 0.1 4.9 30.8
Retail 3.0 (0.8) 2.2 – – – 2.2
Total City, Midtown and Southwark 26.7 1.4 28.1 4.8 0.1 4.9 33.0
Total let portfolio 100.3 10.6 110.9 22.9 3.0 25.9 136.8
Voids (A) 14.9 0.1 15.0
Premises under refurbishment and development 95.9 6.0 101.9
Total portfolio (B) 221.7 32.0 253.7
Vacancy rate % (A/B) 6.7 0.3 5.9
EPRA vacancy
Wholly-
owned
£m
Joint
ventures
£m
Total
£m
Voids and premises under refurbishment excluding developments (A) 60.7 6.1 66.8
Total portfolio 221.7 32.0 253.7
Less: premises under development (50.1) – (50.1)
Total (B) 171.6 32.0 203.6
EPRA vacancy rate % (A/B) 35.4 19.1 32.8
Rent roll security, lease lengths and voids
Wholly-owned Joint ventures
Rent roll
secure for
five years
%
Weighted
average
lease length
Years
Void
%
Rent roll
secure for
five years
%
Weighted
average
lease length
Years
Void
%
London North of Oxford Street Office 27.5 3.8 6.0 – – –
Retail 36.5 4.3 2.2 52.5 6.9 –
Rest of West End Office 1.2 1.3 4.4 89.1 10.3 –
Retail 28.5 4.8 – 21.5 4.1 –
Total West End 22.9 3.5 4.8 63.0 7.9 –
City, Midtown and Southwark Office 9.0 1.9 10.3 – 3.0 1.3
Retail 10.5 1.1 – – – –
Total City, Midtown and Southwark 9.2 1.8 10.3 – 3.0 1.3
Total portfolio 19.3 3.0 6.7 49.5 6.8 0.4
Rental values and yields
Wholly-owned Joint ventures Wholly-owned Joint ventures
Average
rent
£psf
Average
ERV
£psf
Average
rent
£psf
Average
ERV
£psf
Initial
yield
%
True
equivalent
yield
%
Initial
yield
%
True
equivalent
yield
%
London North of Oxford Street Office 98 117 – – 3.0 5.6 – –
Retail 66 67 79 84 4.4 5.3 (1.4) 5.7
Rest of West End Office 130 162 116 146 2.5 5.2 3.7 4.7
Retail 105 109 111 118 3.5 4.9 4.1 4.3
Total West End 99 116 106 118 3.1 5.4 3.3 4.7
City, Midtown and Southwark Office 77 89 52 61 3.6 5.8 2.3 6.2
Retail 43 30 – – 3.9 5.6 – –
Total City, Midtown and Southwark 71 80 52 61 3.6 5.8 2.3 6.2
Total portfolio 89 100 87 91 3.2 5.5 3.1 5.1
Portfolio statistics at 31 March 2025
201Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Other information
Building Research Establishment Environmental
Assessment Methodology (BREEAM)
Building Research Establishment method of assessing,
rating and certifying the sustainability of buildings.
Cash EPS
EPRA EPS adjusted for certain non-cash items (including
our share of joint ventures): lease incentives, capitalised
interest and charges for share-based payments.
Core West End
Areas of London with W1 and SW1 postcodes.
Development profit on cost
The value of the development at completion, less the value
of the land at the point of development commencement
and costs to construct (including finance charges,
letting fees, void costs and marketing expenses).
Development profit on cost %
The development profit on cost divided by the land
value at the point of development commencement
together with the costs to construct.
Earnings per share (EPS)
Profit after tax divided by the weighted average
number of ordinary shares in issue.
EPRA metrics
Standard calculation methods for adjusted EPS and NAV
and other operating metrics as set out by the European
Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) in their Best Practice
and Policy Recommendations.
EPRA Net Disposal Value (NDV)
Represents the shareholders’ value under a disposal
scenario, where deferred tax, financial instruments and
certain other adjustments are calculated to the full extent
of their liability, net of any resulting tax. Diluted net assets
per share adjusted to remove the impact of goodwill
arising as a result of deferred tax and fixed interest
rate debt.
EPRA Net Reinstatement Value (NRV)
Represents the value of net assets on a long-term basis.
Assets and liabilities that are not expected to crystallise
in normal circumstances, such as the fair value movements
on financial derivatives, real estate transfer taxes
and deferred taxes on property valuation surpluses,
are therefore excluded.
EPRA Net Tangible Assets (NTA)
Assumes that entities buy and sell assets, thereby
crystallising certain levels of unavoidable deferred
tax. Diluted net assets per share adjusted to remove
the cumulative fair value movements on interest-rate
swaps and similar instruments, the carrying value of
goodwill arising as a result of deferred tax and other
intangible assets.
Estimated rental value (ERV)
The market rental value of lettable space as estimated
by the Group’s valuers at each balance sheet date.
Fair value – investment property
The amount as estimated by the Group’s valuers
for which a property should exchange on the date of
valuation between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an
arm’s length transaction after proper marketing wherein
the parties had each acted knowledgeably, prudently
and without compulsion. In line with market practice,
values are stated net of purchasers’ costs.
Ready to fit
For businesses typically taking larger spaces on longer
leases who want to fit out the space themselves.
Fitted spaces
Where businesses can move into fully furnished, well-
designed workspaces, with their own front door, furniture,
meeting rooms, kitchen and branding.
Fully Managed
Fitted space where GPE handles all day-to-day services
and running of the workplace in one monthly bill.
Flex space partnerships
Revenue share agreements with flexible space operators;
these are typically structured via lease arrangements
with the revenue share recognised within rental income.
Full repairing and Insuring (FRI) lease
In an FRI lease, the customer is responsible for managing
the space they occupy, including all costs associated
with repairing and maintaining the property, as well as
obtaining insurance coverage.
IFRS
United Kingdom adopted international
accounting standards.
Internal rate of return (IRR)
The rate of return that, if used as a discount rate and
applied to the projected cash flows, would result in
a net present value of zero.
Like-for-like (Lfl)
The element of the portfolio that has been held for the
whole of the period of account.
MSCI
Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) is a
company that produces an independent benchmark
of property returns.
EPRA Loan-to-Value (LTV)
The nominal value of total bank loans, private placement
notes, debenture stock and any net liabilities/assets,
net of cash (including our share of joint ventures balances),
expressed as a percentage of the market value of the
property portfolio (including our share of joint ventures).
Glossary
202 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
MSCI central London
An index, compiled by MSCI, of the central and inner
London properties in their March annual valued universes.
Net assets per share or net asset value (NAV)
Equity shareholders’ funds divided by the number
of ordinary shares at the balance sheet date.
Net debt
The book value of the Group’s bank and loan facilities,
private placement notes and debenture loans plus the
nominal value of the convertible bond less cash and
cash equivalents.
Net gearing
Total Group borrowings at nominal value plus obligations
under occupational leases less short-term deposits
and cash as a percentage of equity shareholders’ funds
adjusted for value of the Group’s pension scheme,
calculated in accordance with our bank covenants.
Net initial yield
Annual net rents on investment properties as a percentage
of the investment property valuation having added
notional purchasers’ costs.
Net rental income
Gross rental income adjusted for the spreading of lease
incentives less expected credit losses for rental income
and ground rents.
Non-PIDs
Dividends from profits of the Group’s taxable
residual business.
Property costs
Service charge and Fully Managed services income less
service charge expenses, Fully Managed services cost,
other property expenses and expected credit losses
for service charges.
Property Income Distributions (PIDs)
Dividends from profits of the Group’s tax-exempt
property rental business.
PMI
Purchasing Managers Index.
REIT
UK Real Estate Investment Trust.
Rent roll
The annual contracted rental income.
Reversionary potential
The percentage by which ERV exceeds rent roll on
let space.
Topped-up initial yield
Annual net rents on investment properties as a percentage
of the investment property valuation having added
notional purchasers’ costs and contracted uplifts from
tenant incentives.
Total potential future growth
Portfolio rent roll plus the ERV of void space, space under
refurbishment and the committed development schemes,
expressed as a percentage uplift on the rent roll at the
end of the period.
Total Accounting Return (TAR)
The growth in EPRA NTA per share, on pro forma basis,
plus ordinary dividends paid, expressed as a percentage
of EPRA NTA per share at the beginning of the period.
Total Property Return (TPR)
Capital growth in the portfolio plus net rental income
derived from holding these properties plus profit on sale
of disposals expressed as a percentage return on the
period’s opening value.
Total Shareholder Return (TSR)
The growth in the ordinary share price as quoted on the
London Stock Exchange, plus dividends per share received
for the period expressed as a percentage of the share
price at the beginning of the period.
True equivalent yield
The constant capitalisation rate which, if applied to all
cash flows from an investment property, including current
rent, reversions to current market rent and such items
as voids and expenditures, equates to the market value
having taken into account notional purchasers’ costs.
Assumes rent is received quarterly in advance.
Ungeared IRR
The ungeared internal rate of return (IRR) is the interest
rate at which the net present value of all the cash flows
(both positive and negative) from a project or investment
equal zero, without the benefit of financing. The internal
rate of return is used to evaluate the attractiveness of
a project or investment.
EPRA vacancy rate
The element of a property which is unoccupied, expressed
as the ERV of the vacant space divided by the ERV of the
total portfolio, excluding committed developments.
Weighted Average Unexpired Lease Term (WAULT)
The Weighted Average Unexpired Lease Term expressed
in years.
Whole life surplus
The value of the development at completion, less the
value of the land at the point of acquisition and costs
to construct (including finance charges, letting fees,
void costs and marketing expenses), plus any income
earned over the period.
203Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Other information
Shareholder enquiries
Enquiries relating to shareholdings, such as the transfer of shares,
change of name or address, lost share certificates or dividend
cheques, should be referred to the Company’s Registrar at:
Equiniti Limited, Aspect House, Spencer Road,
Lancing, West Sussex BN99 6DA
Tel: +44 (0) 371 384 2030
(Lines are open 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday,
excluding bank holidays in England and Wales).
See help.shareview.co.uk for additional information.
Managing your shares online
Shareholders and employees can manage their
Great Portland Estates plc holdings online by registering
with Shareview, a secure online platform provided by
Equiniti Limited. Registration is a straightforward process
and allows shareholders to:
– access information on their shareholdings, including
share balance and dividend information;
– sign up for electronic shareholder communications;
– buy and sell shares;
– update their records following a change of address;
– have dividends paid into their bank account; and
– vote by proxy online in advance of general meetings
of the Company.
Electronic communication
Shareholders are encouraged to elect to receive all shareholder
documentation electronically by registering with Shareview
at www.shareview.co.uk Shareholders who have registered for
this option will receive an e-mail notification when shareholder
documents are available on the Company’s website and a
link will be provided to that information.
When registering, shareholders will need their shareholder
reference number, which can be found on their share
certificate or proxy form.
Equiniti Limited offers a range of shareholder information
and services online at www.shareview.co.uk
For deaf and speech impaired customers, Equiniti welcomes
calls via Relay UK. Please see www.relayuk.bt.com for
more information.
Unsolicited telephone calls – boiler room scams
In recent years, some of our shareholders have received
unsolicited telephone calls or correspondence concerning
investment matters from organisations or persons claiming
or implying that they have some connection with the Company.
These are typically from overseas based ‘brokers’ who target
UK shareholders offering to sell them shares that often turn
out to be worthless or non-existent, or an inflated price for
shares they own. These operations are commonly known as
‘boiler rooms’. Shareholders are advised to be very wary of
any offers of unsolicited advice, discounted shares, premium
prices for shares they own or free reports into the Company.
If you receive any unsolicited investment advice:
– ensure you get the correct name of the person and firm;
– check that the firm is on the Financial Conduct Authority
(FCA) Register to ensure they are authorised at
https://register.fca.org.uk;
– use the details on the FCA Register to contact the firm;
– call the FCA Consumer Helpline (0800 111 6768) if there
are no contact details in the Register or you are told they
are out of date; and
– if the calls persist, hang up.
If you use an unauthorised firm to buy or sell shares, you will
not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the
Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Dividends
Dividends can be paid by BACS directly into a UK bank account,
with the dividend confirmation being sent to the shareholder’s
address. This is the easiest way for shareholders to receive
dividend payments and avoids the risk of lost or out-of-date
cheques. A dividend mandate form is available from Equiniti
Limited or online at www.shareview.co.uk/info/directdividends
Dividends payable in foreign currencies
Equiniti is able to pay dividends to shareholder bank accounts
in over 83 currencies worldwide through the Overseas Payment
Service. An administrative fee will be deducted from each
dividend payment. Further details can be obtained from
Equiniti or online at www.shareview.co.uk/info/ops
Dividend Reinvestment Plan
Our Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) enables shareholders
to use their dividends to buy further Great Portland Estates plc
shares. Full details of the DRIP can be obtained from Equiniti
Limited or online at www.shareview.co.uk/info/drip
Tax consequences of REIT status
As a REIT, dividend payments may be split between PIDs and
non-PIDs. Information in respect of the tax consequences
for shareholders of receiving dividends can be found on
the Company’s website at www.gpe.co.uk/investors/
shareholder-information/reits
Share dealing
Great Portland Estates plc shares can be traded through
most banks, building societies or stockbrokers. Equiniti Limited
offers a telephone and internet dealing service. Terms and
conditions and details of the commission charges are
available on request.
For telephone dealing, please telephone 0345 603 7037
between 8.00am and 4.30pm, Monday to Friday (excluding
bank holidays in England and Wales), and for internet dealing
visit www.shareview.co.uk/dealing
Shareholders will need their reference number, which can
be found on their share certificate.
Website
The Company has a corporate website, which holds, amongst
other information, a copy of our latest Annual Report and
financial statements, a list of properties held by the Group
and copies of all press announcements released over the
last 12 months. The site can be found at www.gpe.co.uk
General Counsel & Company Secretary
Darren Lennark
Registered office
33 Cavendish Square
London W1G 0PW
Tel: 020 7647 3000
Registered number: 596137
Shareholders’ information
204 Great Portland Estates plc Annual Report 2025
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2025
29 May
Ex-dividend date for 2024/25 final dividend
30 May
Registration qualifying date for 2024/25 final dividend
3 July
Annual General Meeting
7 July
2024/25 final dividend payable
19 November
Announcement of 2025/26 interim results (provisional)
27 November
Ex-dividend date for 2025/26 interim dividend (provisional)
1
28 November
Registration qualifying date for
2025/26 interim dividend (provisional)
1
2026
6 January
2025/26 interim dividend payable (provisional)
1
20 May
Announcement of 2025/26 full-year results (provisional)
1, 2
1. Provisional dates will be confirmed in the half-year results
announcement 2025. All dividends are subject to the Board’s
recommendation (and also, in the case of the final dividend,
to shareholder approval) at the appropriate time.
2. The timetable for the potential final dividend will be confirmed
in the 2026 Annual Report.
Financial calendar
Paper/Printer
logos to be added
205Annual Report 2025 Great Portland Estates plc
Great Portland Estates plc
33 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0PW
Tel: 020 7647 3000
www.gpe.co.uk