are property prices on the way down because blnd is showing a slide to the down side

British Land West End Portfolio Nearly Fully Let Following Completion of Leasing Agreement at 39 Victoria Street

British Land confirms that it has fully let its recently completed development at 39 Victoria Street, a fully refurbished Grade A office in the heart of Victoria. Designed by JRA Architects, the building has nine clear and flexible floors with the majority benefiting from terraces and the upper levels enjoying spectacular views across London.

This continues a period of successful letting across our recently completed West End developments, with 10-30 Brock Street, 10 Portman Square and 39 Victoria Street now all fully let or under offer at terms ahead of ERV. As a result, our 2.4 million sq ft West End office portfolio has a 96% occupancy rate, up from 88% at 31 March 2014.

Tim Roberts, Head of Offices and Residential, said: "We have continued to see good letting momentum across our London office portfolio which reflects the high quality spaces and environments we have created along with improving occupational demand. With little new product coming to market over the coming years, we are pushing forward with our near-term pipeline."

StockMarketWire.com
British Land has confirmed that an investigation is under way after two steel bolts broke at 122 Leadenhall Building in the City of London.

British Land said no one was injured in either incident and there is no risk to the structural integrity of the building.

The skyscraper - which has been dubbed the Cheesegrater - is a joint venture development between British Land and Oxford Properties.

A statement by British Land said: "Public safety is our priority so we have taken a number of precautionary measures.

"A full investigation is being conducted by contractor Laing O'Rourke and structural engineers Arup. An examination is being undertaken of the remaining bolts. An area has been cordoned off around the base of the building while this process is ongoing. The Building Control Department has been notified.

"An update will be provided as soon as we are able."

StockMarketWire.com
British Land reports a strong first half performance with good results from both parts of its business.

Underlying pre-tax profits rose by 6.2% to £155m; IFRS PBT of £1,043m (H1 2013/14 £422 million)

- EPRA NAV +11.8% to 769 pence; IFRS Net Assets at £8.0 billion (31 March 2014 £7.1 billion)

- Quarterly dividend of 6.92 pence; bringing the half year to 13.84 pence (+2.5%)

- Total accounting return of 13.7% for 6 months (H1 2013/14: 6.8%)

Chief executive Chris Grigg said: "This has been another good six months for British Land with strong results from both parts of our business. Our continued outperformance underlines the success of our actions: increasing our business in London; progressing our major development programme; evolving our retail offer; and buying and selling well. Looking forward, we remain confident about the outlook for the business. The economy is growing, interest rates are likely to stay low for some time and investor demand for quality properties in and outside London is strong. Demand for offices in London is improving, supply remains constrained and rental growth now looks firmly established. In retail, economic growth is feeding through to consumer spend and the lead indicators of rental growth in our business are all positive."

StockMarketWire.com
British Land reports a strong occupational performance in Retail and Offices in the quarter to the end of December and good progress on its committed pipeline.

Chief executive Chris Grigg said: "It's been another good period for our business: we are leasing well, making progress with developments and have continued to take advantage of strong investment markets to recycle capital.

"Our focus on providing shopping environments which meet the changing needs of today's consumer means we have benefited from growing demand for the right retail space.

"In Offices, supply is constrained and rents are responding well to strong demand. We are making good progress repositioning Broadgate to appeal to a wider range of occupiers, and we've been particularly pleased with progress at The Leadenhall Building where we continue to see significant ongoing interest."

Highlights:
Strong occupational performance in Retail and Offices; positive for rental growth

· 269,000 sq ft of Retail lettings/renewals; investment lettings/renewals 10.9% ahead of ERV2

· Retail footfall +1.3%, continuing to outperform (+260bps vs market)2; retailer same store sales +4.4%

· 168,000 sq ft of Office lettings/renewals completed; investment lettings/renewals 0.4% ahead of ERV2; further 116,000 sq ft under offer, with investment lettings/renewals 8.1% ahead of ERV

· Tech-related occupiers accounted for 43% of completed Office lettings; 62,000 sq ft to WeWork at 199 Bishopsgate and 11,000 sq ft to Central Working at Crown Place, EC2

Good progress on committed pipeline - key milestones achieved
· Leadenhall Building 70% let/under offer; 93,400 sq ft let/placed under offer since start of Q3; includes the building's architects, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners; recent deals 4.5% ahead of ERV

· Broadgate Circle launching in April, and 5 Broadgate on track for completion by June 2015

· £57 million residential sales since the start of Q3, ahead of valuation, including a further £32 million at Clarges Mayfair; £365 million residential sales year to date, including £259 million at Clarges Mayfair

· Continued investment in Retail; extensions at Fort Kinnaird (Edinburgh), Broughton Park (Chester) and Deepdale (Preston) totalling 175,000 sq ft, achieved practical completion

Successfully progressing development pipeline
· On track at 4 Kingdom Street, Paddington Central (145,000 sq ft; total commitment of c. £110 million); expect to be on site next month

· Planning submitted on Blossom Street, Shoreditch (347,000 sq ft) and 100 Liverpool Street, Broadgate (530,000 sq ft)

· c.80,000 sq ft refurbishment opportunity at 338 Euston Road, Regent's Place, starting summer 2015

· Progressing masterplan of 40 acre site at Canada Water

Continuing to recycle capital in strong investment markets

· Asset sales of over £900 million year to date (including residential sales); accounting for over £30 million of annual net rent

· Evolving our Retail portfolio to meet changing consumer needs; £220 million of sales ahead of valuation since the start of Q3, including £55 million of superstores sales

Financial position remains strong
· Proportionally consolidated net debt lower at £4.5 billion (compared to £4.7 billion as at 30 September 2014); proportionally consolidated LTV lower at 35% based on September 2014 valuations (LTV of 32% pro-forma for 2017 Convertible Bond)

· Weighted average interest rate at 4.2% (proportionally consolidated)

· Third quarter dividend confirmed at 6.92 pence3, 2.5% ahead of prior year

Took my eye off the ball here - well done Harry, if still holding.

Sadly not. Can't be in them all. This one on my watchlist but not my portfolio.

StockMarketWire.com
British Land Co has confirmed that the third interim dividend for 2014-15 of 6.92p, as announced on 27 January, will be a property income distribution. The company will not be offering a scrip alternative with this dividend.

The dividend will be paid on 6 May to shareholders of record on 27 March. The ex-dividend date is 26 March

StockMarketWire.com
British Land has completed the acquisition of One Sheldon Square, Paddington Central, for £210 million from the Employees Provident Fund, Malaysia.

This brings British Land's total investment at Paddington Central to 800,000 sq ft with a further 146,000 sq ft currently under construction at 4 Kingdom Street and 210,000 sq ft of consented future development at 5 Kingdom Street. It says: "The acquisition is in line with our strategy of expanding in London and the South East including in and around our existing assets. Acquiring One Sheldon Square, which is prominently located at the entrance to Paddington Central, allows us to develop a wider vision for the campus as an attractive mixed use destination." One Sheldon Square comprises nearly 200,000 sq ft of freehold office space, arranged over nine floors. It is fully let to Visa Europe Services until December 2022 with a rent review in December 2017. Total annual contracted rent is £9.5 million reflecting an average rent of £48.70 per sq ft which is reversionary.

StockMarketWire.com
British Land reports a strong set of results for the year to the end of March with the group continuing to outperform on a range of measures.

Underlying pre-tax profits rose by 5.4% to £313m; IFRS pre-tax profits roser to £1,789m (2014: £1,110m).

EPRA net asset value rose by 20.5% to 829 pence; IFRS net assets increased to £8.6 bn (2014: £7.1bn)

A quarterly dividend of 6.92 pence per share takes the full year to 27.68 pence (2014: 27.0 pence per share)

A first quarter dividend of 7.09 pence per share proposed for 2016, an increase of 2.5%.

Chief executive Chris Grigg said: "We are announcing a strong set of results today with the Group continuing to outperform on a range of measures. This reflects the strategic decisions we have taken over the last five years to re-position the business, alongside the strength of our day to day asset management activities.

"I am particularly pleased with our exceptional leasing activity over the year, which is the clearest indication we are creating environments where people want to work, shop and live. As we look ahead, our results give us confidence we are well positioned for changing trends in the real estate sector: we have a modern portfolio focused on the right locations; a strong balance sheet with a low cost of debt; and an exciting development programme."

StockMarketWire.com
British Land and Oxford Properties have announced that DRW Trading Group has signed an agreement for a lease at The Leadenhall Building.

The building is now nearly 90% let or under offer with just five more floors still available.

DRW is a principal trading organisation headquartered in Chicago, with offices in Montreal, New York, San Francisco and Singapore. The company has chosen to relocate its London operations to The Leadenhall Building.

It is the seventh transaction to complete at the building this year.

Tim Roberts, head of offices at British Land, said: "Since completion, we have seen strong demand for the upper floors of The Leadenhall Building, translating into some standout deals with high calibre occupiers."

StockMarketWire.com
British Land has exchanged contracts for the sale of 39 Victoria Street, SW1 to Singaporean property company Ho Bee Land for a gross purchase price of £144 million (net price of c. £139 million after deduction of rent free top up).

Ho Bee Land is quoted on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange and owns assets in London including 1 St Martin's Le Grand, 60 St Martin's Lane and Rose Court.

39 Victoria Street is a 10 storey office building, totalling 98,000 sq ft including retail space on the ground floor. It was acquired by British Land in 2009 for £40 million and was substantially refurbished in 2013. It is let in its entirety to The Corporate Officer of The House of Commons until September 2029 with a break in July 2026 at a total rent of c. £6 million per annum. British Land says this transaction is in line with its capital recycling strategy.

Summary from Jefferies who reckon the property bubble has burst:
"All our BUY recommendations are repealed with FIVE new ‘SELLS’
· British Land, Unite Gp & CapCo are downgraded to SELL (BUY) with the highest income gearing risk

· Retail specialists intu & Hammerson are least favoured and downgraded to SELL (HOLD)

· Land Securities, Derwent London, Workspace, Big Yellow, Safestore, Grainger, LondonMetric are downgraded to HOLD (BUY)

· Gt Portland, Hansteen, Shaftesbury, SEGRO & Unibail remain HOLD

StockMarketWire.com
British Land had a strong third quarter trading update and says while it is mindful the economic and political outlook is more uncertain since the half year, it is confident in the underlying strength of its business.

Chief executive Chris Grigg said: "We had another strong quarter: our occupational markets remained robust and we continued to be active in the investment markets.

"In Retail, our operational performance was good, with outperformance on footfall particularly of note. We continued to sell single-let assets at prices ahead of book value and re-invest in our multi-let portfolio where we see potential to drive further value.

"In Offices, our portfolio is now virtually full with lettings completed ahead of valuers' assumptions and at Canada Water we agreed Heads of Terms with Southwark Council. Looking forward, while we are mindful that the economic and political outlook is clearly more uncertain since the half year, we are confident in the underlying strength of our business."

Credit Suisse today reaffirms its underperform investment rating on British Land Co PLC (LON:BLND) and cut its price target to 505p (from 715p).

Barclays Capital today reaffirms its overweight investment rating on British Land Co PLC (LON:BLND) and cut its price target to 720p (from 900p).

StockMarketWire.com
British Land has exchanged contracts for the sale of Debenhams flagship store in Oxford Street to a private investor for £400 million.

The seven storey building is near Bond Street underground station in London's core West End shopping district and is let in its entirety to Debenhams until 2039.

In addition, British Land has exchanged on £99 million of further retail disposals since 31 March, including £79 million of superstores, 3.1% ahead of March valuations. These transactions bring total retail disposals since the year end to £499 million.

Since the EU referendum, British Land has exchanged 11 long term retail leases totalling 50,000 sq ft and £2.1 million of rent on terms agreed prior to the referendum.

The leases are spread across its Regional and Local portfolios to a range of occupiers including Yo! Sushi, Nando's, River Island, Pret A Manger, Byron and Waterstones. In aggregate these lettings are 4.7% ahead of March 2016 ERVs. A further 210,000 sq ft of Retail lettings are under offer.

Chief executive Chris Grigg said: "The disposal of Debenhams on Oxford Street reflects our strategic focus on multi-let assets within the Retail portfolio. British Land has entered this period of post-referendum uncertainty in a robust position. We have a strong, resilient business with a clear strategy.

"We have a modern portfolio which is well suited to current and future customer needs. The portfolio is 99% occupied with a wide range of quality occupiers on long leases. Our finances are strong with an LTV of 29.7%, pro forma for exchanged disposals, and the group has no refinancing requirement for over four years. Our speculative development commitments are low at 4% of the portfolio and we have considerable flexibility in our development pipeline."

British Land will announce its Q1 trading update on the 18 July 2016.

StockMarketWire.com
British Land reports good first half results with a significant increase in underlying profits.

Underlying pre-tax profits rose by 16.4% to £199 million driven by like-for-like income growth of 3.4% and reductions in finance and operating costs; IFRS PBT of £(205) million (H1 2016: £823 million)

Other highlights: - EPRA NAV reduced by 3.0% to 891p; IFRS Net Assets at £9.2 billion (March 2016: £9.6 billion)

- Quarterly dividend of 7.3 pence bringing the half year dividend to 14.6 pence (+3.0%)

- Total accounting return of -1.5% (H1 2016: +9.1%)

Chief executive Chris Grigg said: "We've delivered a good set of results with a significant increase in underlying profits reflecting our actions and continued leasing momentum. We're mindful of future uncertainty but are confident that our secure income streams and strong finances will ensure our business remains resilient.

"As occupiers become more discerning we expect our high quality portfolio to benefit from increasing polarisation. The evolving environment will be reflected in our tactical decisions, particularly on development where we expect to proceed more cautiously. We have modest speculative development commitments currently, even following our decision to redevelop 100 Liverpool Street. This is a great example of the opportunities within our portfolio which provide a source of future value."

StockMarketWire.com
British Land has reported a positive quarter which, it said, reflected the strong positioning of its portfolio and its engagement with occupiers and consumers.

It said it completed over 400,000 sq ft of lettings across the business and that it was progressing discussions with a broad range of occupiers.

Chief executive Chris Grigg said: "Retail footfall and sales growth continue to outperform industry benchmarks and we have made further disposals of non-core assets and residential units ahead of valuation.

"The business is well placed; we remain mindful of potential headwinds going forward."

Highlights:
- 314,000 sq ft of Retail lettings and renewals, 8.7% ahead of ERV; a further 189,000 sq ft under offer.

- Retailer sales for the quarter were up 0.6% year on year outperforming the benchmark by 200 bps; footfall for the quarter was -0.6% year on year outperforming the benchmark by 220 bps.

- 51,000 sq ft of Office lettings and renewals, in-line with ERV. 7 Clarges Street offices now over 80% let or under offer at an average rent of £113 psf, in line with pre-referendum ERVs.

- Leasing discussions with a wide range of occupiers are progressing across our London campuses; ten major discussions are under way totalling 1.4 million sq ft.

- Enabling works commenced on the 520,000 sq ft redevelopment of 100 Liverpool Street.

The British Land Company PLC Full Year Results

17 May 2017

Chris Grigg, Chief Executive said: "We are reporting a good set of results today despite an uncertain environment over the last 12 months. We are particularly pleased by the increase in underlying profits, by our strong leasing performance across the business and by the very successful sales we have made. The increase in valuations in the second half is also better than many expected six months ago. These results reflect the continuing execution of our strategy, providing space that responds to changing lifestyles and really fulfils customers' needs. We expect to be operating in an uncertain environment for some time; in this context we will benefit from the resilience of our business, the quality of our portfolio and the strength of our finances. We also look forward with cautious optimism as we believe that we can generate incremental returns by allocating capital to development opportunities we have created, whilst keeping risk at an appropriate level and maintaining flexibility to respond to changes in our markets."

Good financial performance reflecting an active year executing our strategy
• Underlying profit +7.4% to £390 million (2015/16: £363 million); IFRS PBT of £195 million (2015/16: £1,331 million)
• EPRA NAV -0.4% to 915 pence; IFRS Net Assets at £9.5 billion (2015/16 £9.6 billion)
• Final quarterly dividend of 7.3 pence (+3.0%); bringing the full year to 29.2 pence (+3.0%)
• 2017/18 full year dividend of 30.08 pence per share proposed, +3.0%; first quarter 7.52 pence
• Total accounting return of +2.7% (2015/16: +14.2%)

Modest reduction in valuation, improving performance in the second half and continuing ERV growth
• Portfolio valuation -1.4%; +1.6% gain in H2; 15 bps yield expansion in the year
• Offices valuation -0.7%; ERVs +0.5%
• Retail valuation -1.8%; ERVs +1.6% with multi-let +2.4%

Strong leasing and operational performance, evidencing good demand for the places we create
• 1.7 million sq ft of lettings and renewals across the portfolio, 8.0% ahead of ERV, adding £22 million of rent
• Occupancy 98%, with average lease length of 8.3 years
• 1.3 million sq ft of Retail lettings and renewals, 10.8% ahead of ERV; letting more space on better terms, to a broader range of occupiers than a year ago
• Outperforming benchmarks on footfall by +240 bps and in-store sales growth by +220 bps
• 279,000 sq ft of Office lettings and renewals, 1.4% ahead of ERV, letting up standalone developments
• Under offer or in advanced negotiations on a further 700,000 sq ft at our campuses, including 310,000 sq ft pre-let of proposed redevelopment of 1 Triton Square, Regent's Place; further 850,000 sq ft of discussions
• 44% reduction in carbon intensity versus 2009 (2015/16: 40%) as we progress towards our 55% reduction target by 2020

£2 billion of gross capital activity - well positioned to exploit optionality in our pipeline
• £1.5 billion of disposals, 9% ahead of valuation; includes sale of 50% interest in The Leadenhall Building for £575 million which is expected to complete post year end in May 2017
• Retail disposals of £881 million at an average yield of 4.3%; includes Debenhams, Oxford Street for £400 million and £226 million of superstore sales reducing weighting of superstores to 4% of the total portfolio
• £195 million acquisitions focusing on adjacencies; £292 million capital spend; net divestment £1.1 billion
• Speculative development commitment below 4%; £1.7 billion pipeline across a range of uses benefiting from 2.3 million sq ft of planning consents secured in the year, plus Canada Water

Improved financial position with continued access to low cost finance
• LTV at 29.9% (March 2016: 32.1%) and weighted average interest rate at 3.1% (March 2016: 3.3%); LTV at 26.9% and weighted average interest rate at 3.4% pro-forma for sale of The Leadenhall Building
• Based on current commitments, the Group has no requirement to refinance until early 2021

more.....

Fairly safe. 30p dividend = 4.9% yield at £6.13.

Looking to hold long term, collect the dividends and watch it rise.