Simon Clarke’s St Modwen regeneration company posted a strong set of results in the first half of 2013, with an 11 per cent increase in profit before tax to almost £39 million.
The performance was underpinned by further advances in its residential business as the housing market continues to lift, and a continued focus on London and the South East.
As well as advances in residential, the company has also signed a development agreement with Swansea University which is expected to provide returns of around £10 million a year over three years.
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Revenue for the first half was £63.8 million, down from £81 million in 2012. Rental income held steady at £18.2 million with an 88 per cent occupancy rate.
Falling land and property values took their toll on the Clarke family’s 28.3 per cent stake when the property market collapsed a few years ago. But following its recovery the family stake is worth around £55 million.
One of the highlights for the company is the £70 million Longbridge town centre scheme which includes a 150,000 sq ft flagship Marks and Spencer’s, a Sainsbury’s superstore, a Premier Inn, plus shops and restaurants.
The first phase has opened and the next stage of residential development will begin soon. A specialist construction centre is also planned at Longbridge Technology Park, run by Bournville College.
The site has already created around 3,500 jobs and it’s estimated that the facilities will support up to 10,000 jobs over the next 15 years – well over the 6,500 employed on the site when MG Rover collapsed.
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St Modwen is also active in Hednesford where a £50 million shopping centre – the Victoria Shopping Park – has been created, consisting of an 85,000 sq ft Tesco and other shops.
And it has submitted planning permission for a sustainable, housing-led mixed use development on the outskirts of Uttoxeter. This will include 700 homes, public open spaces, a new school, a small retail centre and sports facilities. Other new St Modwen developments are under way in Evesham and Stoke-on-Trent.
In London St Modwen is in a joint venture with Vinci for the New Covent Market development, including a new 550,000 sq ft wholesale market and 2,800 houses.
Simon Clarke, aged 48, takes an active part in the running of Quinton-based St Modwen, the company founded by his late father Sir Stan Clarke who died in 2004.
In 2007 the family sold their stake in Dunstall-based Northern Racing for £65.9 million.
Simon Clarke lives on his Staffordshire estate at Dunstall.