Posted on 24 Oct 2007

Announcing a pre-tax profit of £2.83 million on a turnover of £6.5 million, The EDI Group Limited today [24 October 2007] publishes its annual report for the year 2006. The report also shows a 15% rise in asset value to £51.3m.

The 2006 profit is double that of the previous financial year (£1.31m in 2005) and was achieved in a year when The EDI Group generated £41 million for its shareholder, The City of Edinburgh Council, through a combination of some asset disposals and refinancing others.

Disposals included the successful sale of the Morrison Street Goods Yard with planning permission for 500,000 sq ft of commercial development to Tiger Developments.

Commenting on the figures, Councillor Gordon Mackenzie, Chair of The EDI Group said

“I am very pleased to have taken over the Chair at The EDI Group during a year when the company has again turned in a creditable performance, one that matches up well to its property industry peers. The company has shown the wisdom of taking the long view, one reason perhaps why other local authorities in Scotland are interested in the model it represents.”

EDI’s portfolio remains strong and broad. The company secured a letting of 24,000 sq feet at one of its major office developments Pentad in Edinburgh’s South Gyle, completing all lettings of the first phase.

The residential side of the business is performing well and The EDI Group has three projects already on site or due on site. These are being delivered through Buredi Ltd, the company’s JV with The Burrell Company – at Coalhill in Leith, at Bell’s Mills,upstream of the Water of Leith, in the Dean Village, and at Granton.

During the year covered by the report, The EDI Group was appointed by The National Trust for Scotland as their development partner on the A-listed, 17th century Lambs House in Leith, a project that is intended to go on site in 2008.

On the industrial side, through Edinburgh Industrial Estates Limited (EIEL), EDI’s JV with J Smart & Co Limited, the company completed a 65,000 sq ft unit at Starlaw Park, Livingston for Macrae and its retail partner, Waitrose. It also completed Phase 4 of the A1 Industrial Estate in the east of Edinburgh, concluding this industrial development totalling 120,000 sq ft.

Buredi’s £70 million mixed use scheme at Fountainbridge in Edinburgh secured planning permission and is moving quickly ahead: nearly 200 new homes and 81,000 sq ft of commercial space will be built around a pedestrianised, tree lined street in what will become a lively new urban quarter of the city.

At Craigmillar, PARC, the URC established with the Council, has started constructing two new primary schools, a third generation, floodlit sports pitch (complete as of October 2007) and the first phase of homes that is expected to set new standards in Scotland for urban design. There are further plans to go on site to deliver 280 new homes over the next 18 months, within the first phases of the housing developments.

EDI continues to use Triple Bottom Line reporting to assess its performance against a number of environmental, social and economic factors and is now also introducing a process that will lead to all its activities being carbon neutral.

-ENDS-

For further information or photographs please contact Giselle Dye, at Pagoda PR on 0131 556 0770, email Giselle.dye@pagodapr.com

Notes for Editors
1. The EDI Group Limited www.edigroupscotland.co.uk is a private company which is 100% owned by City of Edinburgh Council. The EDI Group carries out a range of property development from office and retail through factories to housing for the homeless. It combines a commercial approach with a commitment to bringing architectural, environmental and social benefits to and through its projects. EDI’s wide ranging project portfolio includes office developments, retail properties within Edinburgh’s Old Town, Edinburgh Park, the long-term regeneration of Craigmillar, Princes Street Galleries and residential schemes throughout Edinburgh. It operates mainly in the Lothian region, but it has also a presence in Glasgow and North Ayrshire.
2. BUREDI is a joint venture between The Burrell Company and The EDI Group Scotland Ltd.