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The Queen's property portfolio now worth 8 billion pounds

Soaring farmland values and increased demand for central London retail outlets helped the Queen’s property portfolio return a record-breaking income surplus for the year of her Diamond Jubilee.

The Crown Estate, the company that owns and manages the sovereign’s land and property in the UK, made a net profit of £240.2m in the year to March 31. The 4 per cent year-on-year increase underscores the quality of the Crown’s assets, which include large swathes of London’s Regent Street and 106,000 hectares of farmland.

The capital value of the estate’s assets hit £8bn for the first time during the year, marking an increase of 11 per cent on 2011. Total returns of 16.8 per cent meant the company outperformed the industry IPD index benchmark by 10.4 percentage points.

The Queen has no powers to liquidate assets belonging to the Crown Estate. She cannot buy or sell properties and is entitled to a modest slice of the company’s revenues.

Under an agreement struck between King George III and the government in 1760, the portfolio was managed by the Crown on behalf of the state, with surplus revenue going to the Treasury. In turn, the Treasury made a fixed annual payment to the monarch.

The agreement was overturned in 2011, however, and replaced with the Sovereign Grant Act under which this year the Queen will receive 15 per cent of the Crown Estate’s revenues.

20th June 2012 Financial Times

To read the full article, use this link: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/649e3640-b944-11e1-b4d6-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1zCMg9Va4

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