British Land posts new markdowns but rents and profit up
The value of British Land's multibillion pound property portfolio slipped 5 percent in the three months to end-June as gloomy economic portents continued to depress UK property market sentiment.
British spies had astrologer in World War TwoThe second-largest real estate investment trust said the value of its net assets had fallen to 6.3 billion pounds and its net asset value per share had dropped 10 percent in the quarter to 1,212 pence as the year-old property correction continued.
In a statement, British Land said subdued leasing activity had started to hit office rents, but retail rents were still growing, albeit at a slower rate.
As a result, it said it would continue to review the timing of a major City of London skyscraper office development project at 122 Leadenhall - known locally as the Cheesegrater - pending an uptick in occupier demand.
British Land described investment markets "as thin, nervous and negative in tone" and said it saw long-term value for prime property in the yield range of 5-6 percent, contrasting with sub-4 percent property yields regularly seen at the peak of the last boom cycle.
"Our prime property assets will see out many economic cycles with a dependability few businesses can match," Chief Executive Stephen Hester said in a statement. "As spring follows winter, so too will property markets, in due course, see better times again," Hester said.
The company posted a 23 percent rise in underlying pretax profit to 74 million pounds in the quarter and chalked up like-for-like rental growth of 6.3 percent versus the industry benchmark of 3.3 percent.
(Reporting by Sinead Cruise and Mark Potter, editing by Will Waterman)
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