REG - British Land Co PLC - Business Update

British LandAnnouncement

26/09/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 5958N  British Land Co PLC  26 September 2023

BUSINESS UPDATE

 

British Land is publishing an update ahead of its Half Year results on 13
November 2023.

Simon Carter, CEO, said:

"I am pleased with the continued momentum in the business.  Operationally we
are seeing strong leasing activity which reflects the exceptional quality of
our portfolio and has resulted in our recent upgrade of the expected ERV
growth in retail parks.  We have also strengthened our balance sheet in the
period and continue to actively recycle capital with the disposal of non-core
assets ahead of book value.  Meta's surrender of our building at 1 Triton
Square also enables us to accelerate our plans to reposition Regent's Place as
London's premier Innovation and Life Sciences campus."

Operational performance

Achieved 1.2m sq ft of leasing across the portfolio in the first 5 months to
31 August 2023, 13.1% ahead of ERV, with a further 1.1m sq ft under offer,
17.4% ahead of ERV.

Campuses

-      262,000 sq ft of leasing completed 8.2% ahead of ERV, including
64,000 sq ft of Storey leasing, and a further 137,000 sq ft under offer, 10.5%
ahead of ERV. In addition, we have 1.7m sq ft in negotiations as demand
continues to gravitate to best in class space.

-      Meta surrender of 1 Triton Square - one of the two buildings it
has leased at Regent's Place - for £149m, received on 25 September 2023.
Although this will result in a EPS dilution, post interest savings, of c.0.6p
for the six months to March FY24 we are comfortable with current market
expectations for FY24 due to better collection of historic COVID arrears than
anticipated.

-      Secured one of the UK's largest life science lettings this year,
48,000 sq ft of lab and office space at the Priestley Centre, Guildford to
LGC, a leading global life science company.

Retail

-      980,000 sq ft of Retail leasing completed, 15.0% ahead of ERV,
with a further 951,000 sq ft under offer, 19.4% ahead of ERV. This includes
511,000 sq ft of deals across Retail Parks, 15.3% ahead of ERV and 677,000 sq
ft under offer at 19.4% above ERV.

-      Upgraded Retail Park ERV growth guidance for FY24 from 2-4% to
3-5% as a result of strong leasing activity ahead of ERV.

Balance sheet and capital recycling

-      Exchanged on the sale of an office and data centre portfolio for
£125m, a NIY of 4.6%, which delivered an IRR of 8.2% per annum since
acquisition in 2007.

-      As a result of the Meta surrender and the disposal of the office
and data centre portfolio, March 2023 LTV of 36.0% on a pro-forma basis would
be 33.6%.

-      In August, Fitch affirmed British Land's senior unsecured credit
rating at 'A' with Stable Outlook.

-      Strong liquidity maintained, with £1.7bn of undrawn facilities
and cash, with no requirement to refinance until early 2026.

 

-ENDS-

 

Investors:

Sandra Moura, British
Land
07989 755 535

Media Enquiries:

Charlotte Whitley, British
Land
07887 802 535

 

About British Land

Our portfolio of high quality UK commercial property is focused on London
Campuses and Retail & London Urban Logistics. We own or manage a portfolio
valued at £13.0bn (British Land share: £8.9bn) as at 31 March 2023 making us
one of Europe's largest listed real estate investment companies.

We create Places People Prefer, delivering the best, most sustainable places
for our customers and communities. Our strategy is to leverage our best in
class platform and proven expertise in development, repositioning and active
management, investing behind two key themes: Campuses and Retail & London
Urban Logistics.

Our three Campuses at Broadgate, Paddington Central and Regent's Place are
dynamic neighbourhoods, attracting growth customers and sectors, and offering
some of the best connected, highest quality and most sustainable space in
London. We are delivering our fourth Campus at Canada Water, where we have
planning consent to deliver 5m sq ft of residential, commercial, retail and
community space over 53 acres. Our Campuses account for 63% of our portfolio.

Retail & London Urban Logistics accounts for 37% of the portfolio and is
focused on retail parks which are aligned to the growth of convenience, online
and last mile fulfilment. We are complementing this with urban logistics
primarily in London, focused on development-led opportunities.

Sustainability is embedded throughout our business. Our approach is focused on
three key pillars where British Land can create the most benefit: Greener
Spaces, making our whole portfolio net zero carbon by 2030, Thriving Places,
partnering to grow social value and wellbeing in the communities where we
operate and Responsible Choices, advocating responsible business practices
across British Land and throughout our supply chain, and maintaining robust
governance structures.

Further details can be found on the British Land website at
www.britishland.com (http://www.britishland.com)

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