Land Securities plans 2010 development as values recover
BRITAIN’S biggest property company, Land Securities Group, today reported a profit for the first half as property values fell at a slower pace.
The group, which owns the White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds as well as being involved in the stalled Trinity Quarter shopping complex in the city centre, said that net income for the six months to September 30 was £11.9m compared with a loss of £1.73bn a year earlier.
The group, which owns major retail centres and parks across the UK alongside flagship London office buildings including the building bearing the lit up advertising billboards in Piccadilly Circus, said that net asset value dropped 4.7% to 565p a share.
Land Securities plans to start work next year on its first new developments since 2006 and buy properties again as the market recovers.
Chief executive Francis Salway said: “We are confident that from the low point in July 2009 property values will rise over the next five years with the profile characterised by ripples rather than pure straight-line growth as residual risks and imbalances in financial markets play out.
“We are prepared to be patient for the best opportunities and we will not rush our investment programme, as we expect a broader range of opportunities to emerge once banks begin to take action on their property loan portfolios.”
Commercial-property values in the UK rose 1.9% in October from September, the third straight monthly increase and the biggest since December 2005, Investment Property Databank said this week but the values are still down 42% their peak.
Land Securities is currently valued at £5.4bn.
