British Land's Q1 asset values, profit rise

Published 04th Aug 2011

Property investor British Land (BLND.L) posted a rise in first-quarter net asset value (NAV) on the back of its 1.1 billion pounds development programme, and said it expects acquisitions to drive income and value returns.

British Land's first-quarter NAV was 583 pence, from 515 pence a share a year earlier, and 567 pence at December 31, 2010. Its underlying pretax profit was 65 million pounds, from 64 million a year ago.

"We've had an active and positive start to the year. Our focus on high quality retail and London offices continues to drive strong valuation and improvement in rental values," said Chief Executive Chris Grigg in a statement.

The UK's second largest real estate investment trust (REIT) by market capitalisation saw its portfolio value rise 1.5 percent to 9.9 billion pounds during the quarter, with office values up 3.7 percent and retail up 0.4 percent.

Occupancy across the company's London-centric office folio was 97.8 percent, while in its retail book occupancy was 98.7 percent.

British Land is one of several major REITs to return to the development site, with projects such as Leadenhall Building, 5 Broadgate, and the NEQ building in the works.

"The early decisions we made in undertaking our 1.1 billion pounds development programme are having a real impact, accounting for nearly a quarter of our valuation improvement," said Grigg.

The number of prime office development projects started in London has risen sharply this year, after many REITs put their plans on ice as the global financial crisis saw capital values and debt availability plunge.

"The highly selective acquisitions made since the beginning of the quarter will add both incremental income and value for our shareholders," the former banker with career spells at Goldman Sachs and Barclays said.

The company said it would pay a first-quarter dividend of 6.5 pence, unchanged from the year-earlier same period.

Source: ' Reuters '

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