Town Centre has the space for more car parks

In July it took over management of the Merrion Centre multi-storey car park, which it said has performed in line with expectations.

In a trading update yesterday, the Leeds-based company said its focus on the value for money retail sector is boosting trading. The Merrion Centre in Leeds has seen its fifth consecutive year of growth and the mall, with its focus on discount retailing, continues to beat the downturn.

The company said it is focusing on managing its investment portfolio in a market that remains reasonably stable.

The group said its performance continues to meet expectations and it has achieved the anticipated savings in administrative expenses and lower interest costs.

The group has net debts of 141.9m, down slightly from the 141.3m reported at the end of June.

Town Centre said it continues to operate well within its available facilities and covenants, providing headroom to make asset purchases and further develop its existing portfolio.

The only changes to its property portfolio over the past five months were the sale of two small properties in Bradford and Kings Lynn for net proceeds of 1.4m, as previously reported.

The group said the successful letting of 55,000 sq ft of retail space at Urban Exchange in Piccadilly Basin, Manchester to Go Outdoors in October was the highlight of the past five months.

It said this should encourage a further take-up of the remaining vacant space next year.

Following this letting, the group has reduced the level of voids to 4.7 per cent, down from 6.8 per cent at the end of June.

Town Centre said rent collection has been very strong. The car parking business was at a similar level to last year and the group said it is looking for new car park opportunities, both to own and manage.

Chairman and chief executive Edward Ziff said: "I am very pleased with the start we have made to this financial year. The market remains stable and we have been able to concentrate our efforts on working with new and existing tenants to underpin the strength and resilience of the business.

"We continue also to develop our plans to increase our return from our existing assets."