St Modwen full year net asset value falls by a fifth

The firm, which specialises in redeveloping towns and cities across Britain and has several sites in Yorkshire, said, however, that the property market was showing signs of recovery and it was confident of returning to growth in profits and NAV in 2010.

The real-estate developer said its portfolio had not yet seen the resurgence in values experienced in other parts of the property market, but added that it was now starting to see important signs of improvement.

"Property market prospects still remain uncertain. The economy may be slowly emerging from recession, but business confidence remains fragile, with continued pressure on rents and occupancy levels," Chairman Anthony Glossop said in a statement.

St Modwen's net asset value per share for the year ended November 30 fell to 200 pence from 251 pence a year earlier.

Pre-tax loss for the year widened to 119.4m from a loss of 73.1m in the previous year.

The company said it was not paying a final dividend for the year, and it expected to resume payment of dividends when it starts seeing a rise in NAV.