British Land losses widen as High Street woes hit retail property values
Nearly £600 million has been wiped off the value of British Land’s retail empire amid painful High Street conditions, the property giant said on Wednesday.
The landlord reported a 10.7% drop in the value of the retail estate to £4.8 billion for the six months to September 30.
The total value of its property portfolio fell 4.3% to £11.7 billion, pushing the firm’s pre-tax losses to £440 million compared with a £42 million loss.
British Land’s boss Chris Grigg said the retail park and shopping centre falls were outside London.
The firm’s rental income was hit by the wave of retailers seeking rent cuts or store closures using a controversial company voluntary arrangement model. Tenants to do one included Debenhams. Grigg said: “We expect retail to remain challenging, so we’ll focus on... maintaining occupancy.”
However, the chief executive praised British Land’s offices division, including its Broadgate complex by Liverpool Street station.
Grigg said companies “find themselves in the war for talent” and want to secure headquarters that will attract top staff.
Recent lettings it has done in London include to digital bank Monzo.
Shares in British Land decreased 14.8p to 560.4p.
