Steady progress from British Land

BRITISH Land, which owns the Debenhams building in Manchester and Merseyside’s Speke Shopping Park has seen a slight rise in first quarter profits.

Compared with the same period last year, the London-based firm said a profits were 3.2% ahead at  £64m.

It said its net asset value per share was up 2.2% to 515p but the rate of portfolio valuation growth slowed “as expected” to 1.4%.

Occupancy of British Land sites increased to 97.8% which the company said could be attributed to further London office leasing activity and resilience within its retail portfolio. Office occupancy was up 4% to 96.6% and it has enjoyed over 210,000 sq ft of new office lettings agreed or under offer since March 2010.

Retail occupancy remains high at 98.6% with around 765,000 sq ft of retail lettings and rent reviews.

Chief executive Chris Grigg said: “We have performed well in what has been an important quarter for British Land.

“Reaching agreement with UBS (in London) to develop and occupy a new 700,000 sq ft building is a major step in our investment programme to ensure Broadgate remains the City’s premier office location.”

“While we remain cautious about the near-term outlook, our prime real estate, underpinned by good tenant credit quality and high occupancy, is expected to perform well and we remain confident about the long-term prospects for the business.”