‘Property has emerged from cold spell’

Edward Ziff, who is also the company’s chairman, said the market was beginning to appreciate the attractions of regional property, when compared with “stretched” London valuations.

He added: “Leeds is beginning to hum again. Let’s enjoy the feeling of spring time. We’ve had a cold desperate spell for four to five years.”

Mr Ziff said London was a world market place, but it was not everybody’s cup of tea.

“Another 50 million people live in the rest of the UK,’’ he added. “We deserve our bites of the cherry.”

The Leeds-based property investor and car park operator also revealed that it had completed its new front “Arena Quarter” development at the Merrion Centre in Leeds, which aims to cash in on the success of the First Direct Arena, which opened in 2013.

Mr Ziff added: “The job that Leeds City Council has done with the arena is just awesome.”

The company said it was establishing a new office in Duke Street, London, which will be mainly used as a base to manage the expansion of TCS’s subsidiary CitiPark.

In the six months ended December 31 2014, the company’s underlying profit before tax was £3.4m, compared with £4.0m in the same period the year before.

The company said that sales at Victoria Gate, in Leeds and Apperley Bridge, near Bradford had raised £10m.

TCS also said it had made progress on its developments in Whitehall Road, Leeds and Piccadilly Basin in Manchester.

Rental income from investment properties was £7.9m, compared with £8.9m in the same period the year before.

TCS said the fall reflected the impact of the £17.3m of property disposals, which included property on Park Row in Leeds completed in July 2014. Income from car parks was £3.0m, which was an increase on the £2.5m recorded in the same period the year before. It was boosted by underlying growth and the acquisition of Clements Road in Ilford.

Mr Ziff added: “Town Centre Securities has delivered a total shareholder return of 21 per cent over the last 12 months ahead of the wider real estate sector. The first half has seen good performance and values have continued to move forward.”

“The car park business provides another opportunity for income growth and we continue to expand these operations. Our strong asset management capability continues to maintain our high occupancy levels which in turn underpin our rental income and profitability.

“Our performance remains in line with our expectations and we look forward to the future with confidence as the regional economy continues to benefit from the ripple effect of economic growth.”

In a note about the results, analysts from Oriel Securities said: “Investor appetite for regional UK property has been growing for some time, and we believe that the consequent inward yield shift is in anticipation of stronger rental growth.

“We believe the outlook for the cities in which the company operates (56 per cent of the company’s assets are based in Leeds and 18 per cent in Manchester) remains positive.”