Savills plc - Investor relations

GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE’SREVIEW OF OPERATIONS CONTINUEDNew HomesThe New Homes division turned in a strong performance in 2003 having beeninvolved in 3,200 residential unit sales with a 52% uplift in those derived fromour provincial offices. Notable successes included the sale of 173 units atGlasgow Harbour for Cala City Limited, 92 units sold at The Arena,Nottingham for Crosby Homes and over 65 reservations at WestminsterGreen, London for Clementine Investments Limited. A feature of the marketis bulk sales, sometimes discounted, to specialist investors.International New HomesOur International New Homes business has expanded quickly over the lasttwelve months by concentrating on new homes in sought after resort areasaround the world. The team now comprises eleven individuals responsible forover 400 property sales in seven countries. Current high profile projects include:• The Palm, Dubai - 1,800 units;• Provence Country Club, France - 170 units;• Arc 1950 Ski Village, French Alps - 750 units;• Villa Nova, Barbados - 10 units;• Casa Grande, Marbella, Spain - 57 units; and• Carlyon Bay, Cornwall - 511 units.• advising CRL, the Pillar/Hammerson joint venture, on the potential for thefurther development of over 10m sq ft of mixed-use land including the landaround Brent Cross Shopping Centre.Our Telecoms team have steadily increased their share of the market and nowhave a strong relationship with four of the five operators. The electricity andgas sectors have provided steady business with further growth in 2004expected. A new and potentially exciting area of business, comes from a jointventure with an international wind developer.Farm and Estate AgencyDespite difficulties caused by uncertainty over the review of the CommonAgricultural Policy, FPDSavills continued to sell and buy a number of highprofile agricultural estates for clients including the sale of the largest sportingestate of the year, East Allenheads Grouse Moor, for an asking price of £10m.Other highlights included:• the sale of Hungerford Park (2,013 acres);• the sale of the Wansdyke Estate in Berkshire (1,335 acres); and• the purchase of Cokenach Estate in Hertfordshire (1,700 acres).DevelopmentThe Development department experienced another growth year with significantdevelopment achieved both in terms of transactional and consultancyinstructions. Major development transactions included land sales fordevelopers such as Crest, Countryside and Taylor Woodrow as well asdisposals for various NHS trusts and the MOD. The DevelopmentConsultancy business has expanded significantly with further instructions froma number of the Regional Development Agencies, including SWERDA, WDA,Advantage West Midlands and SEEDA. The Development team advised onmore than 30,000 acres of development land, 81% of transactions were onbrownfield or urban sites.In response to client demand a specialist Mixed-Use team has been formedso as to provide unified advice on large strategic sites where a number ofspecialisations are required.Highlights last year included:Retail and LeisureThe Retail Warehouse team continued to perform well benefiting from itsnational coverage in three offices, continued market penetration and enlargedclient base. The department currently advises on many of the UK's leadingretail parks including: Monks Cross, York; Birmingham Fort; Middlebrook,Bolton and Manchester Fort. This year saw our appointment by BootsProperties Plc to advise on their town expansion programme in the South andMidlands. We have established a Retail Warehouse department in Parisreflecting our strategy to expand into Europe.The Leisure team successfully let or acquired over 250,000 sq ft of retail andleisure this year. Key openings in 2003 included Xscape in Castleford, a£60m centre opened in October 2003.Hotels and Healthcare2003 was a record year for our Hotels team having increased their turnoverby 50% and profits by 70%.• representing the University of Oxford in successful negotiations to acquirethe Radcliffe Infirmary site at a price of over £40m;• property advisers on the Meridian Delta Ltd's 10m sq ft proposals todevelop the land around the Millennium Dome; andNotable sales were the 5 Queens Moat House managed hotels for theBank of Scotland which will now be managed by other operators. We alsosuccessfully leased two major hotels to Europe's largest hotel operator andadvised on an investment sale for Lombard Finance.14