Despite a surge in income, the property company established by retail titan John Lewis saw its losses triple during its most recent financial year.
BTR (Operating) Limited reported a pre-tax loss of £406,000 for the 12 months leading up to 25 January, 2025, as revealed in new accounts filed with Companies House, as reported by .
This follows a pre-tax loss of £102,000 recorded in the previous year.
The newly released figures also highlight a significant leap in the firm's operating income, which rose from £32,000 to £260,000 over the course of the year.
Established in September 2022, BTR (Operating) serves as the operational entity for John Lewis' build-to-rent property ventures.
The company commenced operations at its inaugural site in November 2023, with two additional projects becoming functional in February 2024 and October 2024 respectively.
The firm's revenue is primarily derived from management fees for its trio of sites, while its expenses are largely associated with the recharging of partner costs for a team assembled to facilitate the operation of future sites.
John Lewis gets green light after appeal
These results follow the successful appeal by John Lewis in May, securing planning permission to revamp a Waitrose in West Ealing, London.
The application, which had been navigating the planning system for nearly two years, forms part of John Lewis' long-term strategy to diversify its revenue streams through build-to-rent initiatives.
The partnership is set to construct 428 build-to-rent homes, inclusive of 83 affordable rented properties, alongside an upgraded Waitrose store and car park. John Lewis also has designs on converting a disused warehouse in Reading into an £80m residential complex housing over 200 dwellings, with plans for an additional 350 homes in Bromley.
All these developments are build-to-rent – purpose-built, institutionally owned and professionally managed blocks of flats. Earlier this year, City AM revealed that the John Lewis Partnership had foregone its staff bonus for the third consecutive year despite profits nearly tripling.
The partnership's pre-tax profit soared from £42m to £126m over the 52 weeks to 25 January. Total sales saw a three per cent annual increase, rising from £12.4bn to £12.8bn, while the operating profit margin improved by 0.9 percentage points to two per cent.
