Cadogan family gets £30m dividend
Earl Cadogan, one of London's richest landlords and owner of
vast swathes of Chelsea, paid himself and his family a £30m
dividend last year.
The property aristocrat, ranked the 17th wealthiest man in
Britain in the Sunday Times Rich List, made the payment after
the value of his estate hit the £3bn mark for the first time
last year. Profits, however, fell from £43.5m to £30.8m.
The near-11% rise in property values came despite a sharp
downturn in the market in the wake of the credit crunch.
Soaring house prices in some of London's most expensive areas
accounted for much of the increase, although growth tailed off
at the end of last year.
House prices on the estate, which includes Cadogan Square
and Sloane Square, rose 24% in 2007, having increased by 32% in
2006 and 19% in 2005.
Earl Cadogan hailed 2007 as a successful year against 'a
deteriorating background' and warned conditions had become
'progressively more challenging' this year.
'The downturn in the cycle has had an impact on the
valuations of our commercial property interests, but any
adverse impact from this has been more than compensated for by
continuing growth in the value of our residential property
interests during 2007,' he said. 'We have to face a more
difficult economic background than we have become accustomed to
recently. The continuing turmoil in the financial markets, and
in particular the severe constriction in the availability of
credit, seem certain to impact the wider economy.'
The dividend, which matched what he paid the family in the
previous year, was revealed today in the report and accounts of
the Cadogan Group.
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