Trident Estates booked a €1.3 million operating profit last year, as tenants moved into the company’s new Trident Park development at the old Farsons brewery in Mrieħel.

While the company declared a €7.5 million pre-tax profit, the vast majority of that came from a fair value gain of €6.7 million on its Trident House property in Qormi.

Revenues for the financial year ending on January 31 topped €2.3 million, up from the €1.1 million registered the previous year.

No dividend will be paid out to shareholders this year, with directors saying it would not be prudent to pay one out at this stage, given the need to wrap up the Trident Park project and build up rental income.

Trident Estates was established in 2000 as a spin-off from Simonds Farsons Cisk plc and operates as a property investment company. It owns, through subsidiaries, the Farsons brewery complex (Trident Park), Trident House, and a property portfolio that includes sites such as Sliema’s il-Fortizza, the building currently housing Pizza Hut in Sliema and Gzira’s former KFC site.

Despite declining demand for office space, the company said it is encouraged by interest and take-up at its Trident Park project.

Occupancy is currently at 63 per cent, the company said, with a number of other tenancy contracts close to being signed.

The company noted that rising interest rates have placed an added strain on its balance sheet, given that the Trident Park project was in park financed through bank loans. Finance costs for the year reached €530,000, up from €182,000 the previous year. The company said it is currently in talks with its bankers about the matter, warning that higher interest rates would impact 2024 earnings.

Trident Estates chairman Louis Farrugia said the company was delighted to have delivered the Trident Park project.

“Trident Park should not be regarded as a trading asset but rather as a long-term capital investment with considerable potential for appreciation over the medium to long term. We have got off to an encouraging start in terms of attracting an impressive list of prestigious tenants – and we will seek to build on this momentum,” he said.

Company CEO Charles Xuereb said demand for commercial space at the project came from a broad spectrum of businesses and institutions. He highlighted the company’s efforts to complete the project’s conference facility, which included the restoration of the original Farsons boardroom.

The company said management’s focus in 2024 would be on operating the Trident Park property. Its board of directors will be conducting a strategic review encompassing the next phases of the Trident Estates PLC business plan.

That review will also look at options for the company’s Trident House property, which currently houses Quintano Foods Limited and Food Chain Limited (Farsons Group). The company will vacate the premises in 2026.

Trident Estates Plc will be holding its Annual General Meeting on 16 June 2023 at the Trident Park Conference Hall.