British Land IMS June 2012 - dividend confirmed

DividendMax Ltd.

British Land IMS June 2012 - dividend confirmed

THE BRITISH LAND COMPANY PLC INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

Continued Robust Operational Performance

British Land today publishes its interim management statement for the quarter to 30 June 2012

Chris Grigg, Chief Executive said: "I am very pleased with our performance in the last period, achieved in the context of a tough economic environment. Operationally, we had another good quarter with 650,000 sq ft of lettings and lease extensions; we also increased occupancy across the business while Retail footfall rose, in contrast to the broader market. We are delighted to announce today the purchase of the Clarges Estate in Piccadilly, an important mixed used development opportunity in the heart of Mayfair. This acquisition will further enhance our presence in the West End and underlines the benefits of our size and scale. We are also seeing a number of other attractive investment opportunities and expect to continue to recycle assets in order to release capital."

Highlights

Asset Management - strong operational performance reflecting strength and quality of our portfolio*

  • £13.5 million (564,500 sq ft) of lettings and lease renewals/extensions at 1.6% above ERV; occupancy up 10 bps at 98.1%
  • Continued demand for our high quality UK retail schemes: 172,400 sq ft of retail lettings and lease renewals at 1.0% ahead of ERV; occupancy up 20 bps over last 3 months to 98.5%
  • Retail footfall 0.5% positive, outperforming the market benchmark which was down 2.4%
  • Exposure to rents in administration lower at 0.8% of total rent following successful lettings
  • Retaining existing office occupiers: 392,100 sq ft of office lease extensions and lettings at 7.9% ahead of ERV (excludes lease extensions); encouraging level of letting enquiries

Developments - progressing well with good levels of pre-letting interest

  • Further 85,000 sq ft of development pre-lets; total income secured through pre-lets now £41 million
  • Continued occupier interest in West End and City offices including The Leadenhall Building
  • Further residential development pre-sales brings residential sales over the last 3 years to £173 million
  • High levels of interest in retail developments: Whiteley Shopping Centre 76% pre-let and due to open in May 2013; Zaragoza 82% pre-let/under offer and opening in early October 2012

Investment - attractive opportunities supported by capital recycling

  • £205 million of investment (BL share) including £143 million of acquisitions exchanged/completed
  • Investments focused on committed and future development pipeline
  • £130 million acquisition of the Clarges Estate, a 191,500 sq ft office/residential development opportunity in Mayfair announced today
  • Asset sales to fund investments; £59 million of assets (BL share) sold at 1.1% ahead of valuation

Financing - strong financial position and access to finance

  • First quarter dividend confirmed at 6.6 pence, 1.5% ahead of prior year
  • Financial position remains strong; agreed £374 million of new financings in joint ventures and funds
  • Proportionally consolidated loan to value (LTV) at 45.6% (June pro-forma) and average interest rate marginally lower at 4.5%

Companies mentioned