Queen Elizabeth Loses Millions In Property Slump

4 months ago 09th Jul 14:00

Britain's Queen Elizabeth's property portfolio has depreciated by over £1.3 billion.

The Crown Estate, which runs her land and property empire, fell in value from £7.3billion to £6billion in the year up to March - a staggering 18 per cent slump.

The fall - the first since 1993 - was due to falling office and retail rents in the recession, yet the Crown Estate still announced a net surplus of £226.5 million for the year thanks to an increase in other revenue.

Despite the loss, property experts insist it is not as bad as it sounds.

Andy Teacher, from the British Property Federation, said: "The loss of £1billion may sound an awful lot, but it is only a paper loss. A drop of 18 per cent is very modest when you consider that parts of the commercial property market have fallen up to 50 per cent. The Crown Estate has undoubtedly been helped by its varied portfolio."

We have had to contend with a number of difficult circumstances, including tenant defaults, which have affected our income stream.This year saw the Crown Estate deliver a sound performance in challenging circumstances.

Roger Bright, the chief executive of the Crown Estate, added to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper: "We have had to contend with a number of difficult circumstances, including tenant defaults, which have affected our income stream.

"This year saw the Crown Estate deliver a sound performance in challenging circumstances."

The Crown Estate owns more than 1,000 listed buildings and cares for more than 400 sites of Special Scientific Interest.

It is one of the UK's biggest owners of rural land, office space, sea shore, homes and shopping centres.

Among the items in its portfolio is a goldmine in Northern Ireland, West Country forest and beef farms in Scotland.

However, it does not include the queen's privately-held royal palaces.