NORTH WEST commercial property owner Bruntwood is reporting a 10% rise in annual profits to £12.4m.

The family-owned firm is one of Liverpool’s biggest commercial landlords and its assets include The Plaza in St Paul’s Square and the Cotton Exchange complex in Old Hall Street.

For the 12 months to September 2012, Bruntwood said it had its best year for lettings since 2007 with turnover up 6% to £105m.

Net worth fell slightly to £303m, down 5% from 2011, which is attributed to the knock-on effect of the recession on the property market.

After securing a new £120m, 10-year debt facility with Legal and General in January, Bruntwood has now also agreed a £229m extension to its Commercial Mortgage Backed Securitisation (CMBS).

The extension to January 2016 was passed unanimously by bondholders at an extraordinary general meeting earlier this week..

Chief financial officer, Kevin Crotty, said: “In recent weeks we have secured nearly two-thirds of our group refinancing requirements.

“Agreeing a new 10-year facility and passing a unanimous CMBS extension vote is a strong show of confidence for the group and demonstrates that there is demand out there for the right proposition.”

Bruntwood owns more than 100 commercial buildings across the UK and is currently working on redevelopment projects in Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham.

Chief executive Chris Oglesby added: “The demand for our development expertise and our strong financial position is enabling us to grow the business in exciting new sectors – 2013 will be one of our busiest years for new developments.”