LONDON, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Crown Estate said on Tuesday it returned a net revenue profit of 343.5 million pounds (437.67 million U.S. dollars) to the Treasury in the latest financial year despite challenging market conditions and continued uncertainty.
Results for the 12 months ending in March this year were strong, with annual profit up by 4.3 percent on last year, bringing its contribution to the Treasury over the past 10 years to 2.8 billion pounds, the Crown Estate said in its newly published report.
Total capital value reached 14.3 billion pounds, an increase of 1.7 percent year on year, according to the Crown Estate.
The sound performance was primarily driven by benefits of investment in Central London portfolio, which include some of London's most iconic places to shop, work, live and visit, offsetting the weak performance in regional portfolio that is focused on prime retail and leisure destinations across the country.
Offshore wind was another strong contributor. As the manager of the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Crown Estate was boosted by offshore wind sector by leasing it to energy groups to build offshore wind turbines.
The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it the "Sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's private estate.
Under current arrangements, the Queen receives 25 percent of the Crown Estate's profits in the form of a Sovereign Grant, which is intended to meet the costs of the sovereign's official expenditures. (1 pound=1.28 U.S. dollars)
