MARKET REPORT: Lockdown drama in theatreland spooks investors in Covent Garden landlord Capital & Counties

By FRANCESCA WASHTELL FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Updated:

Covent Garden landlord Capital & Counties' cautious outlook sent investors running for the door.

The group, known as Capco, admitted it has no idea when trading will return to normal for its restaurant, shop and bar tenants – even though early indicators since lockdown measures were lifted have been promising.

Last week about 500,000 people visited its sprawling estate in the London food, drink, shopping and entertainment hub, which is near West End theatres, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square.

Covent Garden landlord Capital & Counties admitted it has no idea when trading will return to normal for its restaurant, shop and bar tenants

Covent Garden landlord Capital & Counties admitted it has no idea when trading will return to normal for its restaurant, shop and bar tenants

Virtually all its tenants are open now. But Capco is still under strain, with net rental income down 41 per cent to £18million in the first half of the year. 

The company's loss mushroomed from £8.5million to £441million during that period, and it reiterated numbers released last month showing that the value of its estate has shrunk by £400million to £2.2billion since the start of the year. 

Most tellingly for investors, it has deferred a decision on whether to pay a dividend until the end of the year.

The main difficulty for Covent Garden is that as a 'destination' area it relies on tourists and City workers for business, rather than on a local community.

Stock Watch - Angus Energy 

Angus Energy shot higher after it agreed to sell all of the gas it produces from the Saltfleetby gas field in Lincolnshire to Royal Dutch Shell's subsidiary company Shell Energy Europe.

Home Counties-focused energy producer Angus owns 51 per cent of the gas field, which managing director George Lucan, son of Lord Lucan, has described as a 'gem'.

Shares in the AIM-listed group yesterday surged 38.2 per cent, or 0.33p, to 1.18p after landing the deal.

With tourism still virtually in hibernation and many of those who work in the capital currently decamped to home offices, its streets, which have been even more radically pedestrianised than usual, are struggling to attract visitors.

Capco sank by 9.2 per cent, or 13p, to 128p, making it the biggest faller on the FTSE 250 index. 

Shaftesbury, the West End landlord in which Capco is buying a more-than 26 per cent stake, was hot on its heels, falling by 7.8 per cent, or 44.5p, to 527.5p.

If the shift to working from home is one of the things putting pressure on landlords, it is having the opposite effect for Avast.

Demand for its cyber security products grew during lockdown and is expected to continue.

Avast, which provides both subscription and free-to-use tools, saw revenues rise by 2 per cent to £332million between January and June. But shares slid 3 per cent, or 18p, to 582p.

The FTSE 100 had a positively buoyant day, shrugging off data that showed the economy shrank by a fifth between April and June. 

Traders, analysts said, were focusing on the more upbeat news that things had rebounded significantly during June.

The blue-chip index closed 2 per cent higher, up 125.78 points, to 6280.12, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.5 per cent, or 92.4 points, to 18,089.58.

Key commodities were also on the ascent. Gold clawed back some ground, rising by 1 per cent, or around $24, to $1,935 per troy ounce.

But this will be of little solace to those who had hoped it would stay above $2,000 an ounce for a while, after only pushing through that level for the first time last week.

Oil rose by 1.4 per cent to around $45 a barrel – nudging up shares in energy groups Royal Dutch Shell (up 2.8 per cent, or 33p, to 1204.4p) and BP (up 1.2 per cent, or 3.75p, to 311.3p).

Specialist pension provider Just Group got a 0.8 per cent boost, rising by 0.4p, to 50.9p, after it appointed John Hastings-Bass as its new chairman. 

He chairs insurance broker BMS Group, and will take over from Chris Gibson-Smith.

Elsewhere, telecoms mast operator Helios Towers surged after announcing it had bought 1,220 sites from Free Senegal for £144million and inked an agreement to build another 400 masts.

This marks the Africa-focused group's first foray into the west African country, where it will automatically become the largest independent tower provider. It closed 6.5 per cent, or 10.8p, up at 177.8p.

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