British Land announces a year of continued outperformance

REIT publishes full year results saying Central London office rents are on the rise

Article posted: 23 May 2011

Property giant British Land has today released its full year results to 31 March 2011, bringing good news to the commercial property market.

The REIT has enjoyed a strong year with an increase in NAV per share of 12.5% and an underlying profit before tax of £256m, an increase of 2.8%.

The value of its portfolio of prime retail and office space in the UK is up 6.9% driven by strong lettings performance and developments with occupancy at offices in the West End and City of London now standing at 97.8% up from 92.6% last year.

Just last week British Land, with its joint venture partner Oxford Properties, announced a pre-let at Aon at their Leadenhall Building (pictured) for 191,000 sq ft of office space in the City of London.

Chris Gibson-Smith, Chairman said: “At British Land, we are facing the future with confidence. Our office portfolio comprises modern, flexible buildings that meet evolving occupier needs and we own some of the best retail assets in the UK, where consumers want to shop and retailers trade efficiently and profitably. While, as a nation, we have moved from ’Recession’ to the ‘Age of Austerity’, consumers are still shopping and good businesses are looking to grow. British Land has been well served by the quality, location and sustainability of its portfolio.”

Chris Grigg, Chief Executive said: “British Land has had a very active year. We have again outperformed the market and there is real momentum in the business. We have made a significant commitment to London office development and also continued to build on our high quality retail portfolio. Our strong letting performance across our portfolio shows clearly that there is still demand from occupiers for the well-located prime retail and London office assets we provide and we expect this to continue. With our strong asset base, management expertise and financial strength we are well placed to continue our strong performance.”

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Posted by Sam