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Our history

Although the ownership of some property can be traced back to Edward the Confessor, the estate as a whole essentially dates from 1066.

Recent history – modernisation
History

Some of our recent achievements illustrate this. During the last ten years we have:

  • grown the value of the property portfolio from a £4 billion to a £8.1 billion business
  • delivered over £2 billion to the Treasury for the benefit of the nation
  • been awarded 'Investor in People' status every year since 2003, and the 'one to watch' status in The Sunday Times list of top 100 companies
  • nurtured one of the nation's largest rural estates, which is now valued at almost £1.2 billion
  • delivered an award winning £1 billion regeneration of Regent Street to create an international shopping and retail destination
  • commenced a £500 million programme of investment to enhance and refine the properties in our other core central London portfolio, St James's
  • constructed a significant portfolio of prime retail assets across the country
  • established property partnerships with international, institutional investors, including Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, Norges Bank Investment Management and Land Securities
  • committed over £100 million to help drive the UK's fast growing offshore renewable energy industry 
  • won over 30 nationally recognised awards including 'Deal of the Year' from Property Week magazine, and in 2012 the IP Real Estate Awards 'Best Value-added Investment' and 'Best Institutional Investor in UK & Ireland', as well as Building Awards 2012 - Building Magazine Project of the Year
  • overseen the installation of offshore wind farms that are already meeting the electricity needs of 1.4 million homes
  • adopted a proactive, co-investment approach to our Round 3 offshore wind leasing, which has resulted in the UK leading the world in the offshore wind market
  • helped establish a new renewable industry by completing the world's first commercial wave and tidal leading rounds
  • invested over £1 million on maintenance and improvement of the mooring facilities on the River Hamble
  • acquired three marinas as part of our marine diversification investment policy.