Palace Capital plc
Palace Capital plc is a UK Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange that owns and asset-manages a portfolio of UK commercial (office and leisure) and residential property. Since July 2022 its strategy has been to dispose of the investment and residential portfolio in an orderly way and return the net proceeds to shareholders via dividends, share buybacks and tender offers rather than to grow or reinvest. At 31 March 2025 the portfolio comprised seven properties (five investment properties plus Hudson Quarter residential/commercial in York), the Group was debt-free with a net cash position, and it continued to sell assets after the year end.
10 annual reports read, FY2016 to FY2025
Open a year to see what its report said. Every line in it carries the page it was read from.
Sources: Companies House (8), FCA NSM (2)
FY2026Next report expected 14 Jun 2026
- Open the reportJSONComing soonSixty seconds on the FY2025 report
Palace Capital plc, a property company selling its offices, leisure sites and flats and handing the money back to shareholders, saw revenue fall to £13.2m in the year to 31 March 2025, from £19.6m the year before. It made a profit before tax of £1.4m, against a loss of £9.3m a year earlier. Revenue fell mainly because properties already sold no longer bring in rent, while running costs have shrunk more slowly. Profit was held back by one-off costs, chiefly a staff bonus scheme linked to property sales and a cut in the value of its unsold York flats. The company repaid all its borrowings and ended the year with £22.2m in cash and no debt. It spent £22.1m buying back its own shares and kept the dividend at 15p a share. Management expects to hand back more cash through an offer to buy shares from investors in July 2025, once its Leamington Spa property is sold. It is waiting for better prices before selling its leisure sites. The auditor raised no concerns, and the biggest risk the report names is falling property values.
From the reportevery line sits on the page it namesWhat drove revenueGross rental income from the remaining office and leisure investment portfolio
Gross rental income £6,450,000 (2024: £11,603,000); gross property income £6,929,000 (2024: £12,114,000)
page 65AndTrading property income from residual Hudson Quarter residential unit sales
Trading property income £3,990,000 (2024: £3,199,000); 10 apartments remained for sale at year end
page 65What moved the marginheadwindNet income lost through disposals reducing the rental base while fixed costs remain
EPRA cost ratio rose to 72.1% (46.8% excluding property operating expenses) from 53.4% (33.0%) as gross property income nearly halved while overheads were only partly reduced
page 66AndtailwindReduction in recurring administrative expenditure and planned headcount cuts
Recurring administrative expenditure reduced 23.1% to £2.0m (2024: £2.6m); further reduction in headcount from six to three Executives from H2 2025 expected to cut annualised admin expenses to c.£1.3m from H2 2025
page 10One-offs in the year£644k charge: Short Term Incentive Plan (STIP) provision (including associated costs)
page 8What management saidThe Company anticipates it will return further cash to Shareholders by way of a Tender Offer, expected in July 2025, once the disposal of its property at Leamington Spa has been completed.
page 4After the year endOn 11 April 2025 the Group completed the disposal of Hudson Quarter, York for a total consideration of £10 million
page 81The dividendDividends of 15.0 pence per share paid or declared for FY25 (2024: 15.0p), including a proposed final/Q4 interim dividend of 3.75p payable 14 July 2025; dividends are paid as Property Income Distributions (PIDs) reflecting REIT status
page 4Going concern and the auditUnqualified ('true and fair') audit opinion from BDO LLP; going concern and viability bases adopted after base case and downside scenario modelling to June 2026 (going concern) and June 2027 (2-year viability); sole key audit matter was valuation of investment properties; Group materiality £1.4m (2% of net assets, 2024: £1.1m, 1% of total assets)
page 50The risks it names first- Valuation risk - decreasing capital and rental values (softening yields, rising cost of debt/gilt yields) could reduce portfolio valuation and shareholder returns; overall risk rating 15 (highest rated principal risk)p.16
- Market cycle, economic and political risk - downturn in investment market or UK economic conditions (inflation, interest rates, supply chains) could reduce valuations, disposal proceeds and tenant covenant strength; overall risk rating 12p.16
- Tenant demand and default - changing occupier demand and poor tenant covenants, exacerbated by cost-of-living and interest-rate pressures, could impact rental income and values; overall risk rating 14p.17
- People risk - inability to retain staff with the right skills given the reduced portfolio and headcount, impacting operational effectiveness; overall risk rating 14p.17
Read from C000966-AR-2025-ch.
- FY2022Year to 31 Mar 2022 Opens with a free accountThe report, its reading and its figures
- FY2021Year to 31 Mar 2021 Opens with a free accountThe report, its reading and its figures
- FY2020Year to 31 Mar 2020 Opens with a free accountThe report, its reading and its figures
- FY2019Year to 31 Mar 2019 Opens with a free accountThe report, its reading and its figures
- FY2018Year to 31 Mar 2018 Opens with a free accountThe report, its reading and its figures
- FY2017Year to 31 Mar 2017 Opens with a free accountThe report, its reading and its figures
- FY2016Year to 31 Mar 2016 Opens with a free accountThe report, its reading and its figures