Regent Street owner’s figure swelled by option fees charged to offshore developers

The Crown Estate has made Kristy Lansdown its managing director of development as the developer turned in another record profit.

Lansdown was previously head of development, having joined the firm nearly three years ago from Lendlease where she was a project director for its Elephant Park scheme.

It comes as the estate, which part funds the monarchy, reported an annual net profit in the year to March of £1.15bn, up 4% on the previous year’s £1.1bn.

new zealand house

Multiplex is refurbishing the 1960s-built New Zealand House, designed by RMJM, under a plan drawn up by architect Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands

The bumper number largely came from option fees charged to developers to build six offshore wind farms although chief executive Dan Labbad said it expected the number to have peaked as the farms start to get built out.

The £15.5bn estate owns a stretch of seabed up to 12 nautical miles wide that surrounds England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Its West End real estate, which includes Regent Street, was valued at £7.1bn, up from £6.9bn last time.

Crown Estate is working with Multiplex on a £150m revamp of New Zealand House in St James’s and McLaren on a £30m scheme to overhaul 10 Spring Gardens, also in St James’s. Earlier this year, it appointed Kier to redevelop 33-35 Piccadilly which will include lifestyle and hospitality space as well as 30,000sq ft of offices across eight floors.

In May, the Crown Estate said it was buying a 50% share in six Lendlease projects in the UK including the Australian developer’s schemes at Euston station in London and Birmingham’s Smithfield Market.

The joint venture with the Sydney-based firm, which earlier this year sold its UK construction business to private equity which has since renamed it Bovis, could create up to 26,000 new homes and 900,000sq m of offices and laboratories across the six sites.