Manchester-based commercial property giant Bruntwood said on Monday its net asset value rose by more than 10% to £671.5 million in the year ending September 30, 2022, and the value of its combined portfolio, including Bruntwood SciTech assets and other joint ventures, rose about £200 million to £2 billion.

The property investor and developer said its pre-tax profit increased 68% to £75.2 million, the second highest on record, thanks to the “growing appeal of its portfolio of assets that serve the UK’s innovation economy.”

A major driver behind the numbers was the growth in income from its Bruntwood SciTech 50-50 joint venture with Legal & General, which had the best year since its formation in 2018.

Bruntwood CEO Chris Oglesby said: “We have aligned our products and proposition with the businesses and organisations driving the future of the UK economy in innovation-linked sectors like tech and digital, life sciences and their supporting ecosystems, all of which continue to show huge potential in many of our regional cities. 

“As we now lean into the challenges presented by the end of another economic cycle, this will remain our focus.

“We will continue to focus our energies on investing in assets, whether that’s for Bruntwood SciTech or Works, in such a way that meets the needs of modern business and industry, targeting growth into new and existing cities around the UK.”

Within the Bruntwood SciTech portfolio, the firm unveiled a £76.2 million investment into the purchase and regeneration of Glasgow’s famous Met Tower, to create a new tech and digital campus and marking Bruntwood and Bruntwood SciTech’s first development in Scotland.

Within the Bruntwood Works portfolio,  it completed the £3 million refurbishment of Liverpool’s The Plaza, gained approval for the net zero redevelopment of Manchester’s Grade II listed Pall Mall and work started on the 90,000 sq ft Castle House in Leeds as part of the wider West Village regeneration project.