Underlying first quarter profits were down to£74 million from£76 million last year, but the company said that rental value of its retail portfolio was up 0.5 per cent.
The company has cited the fall in the value of its shopping centre portfolio – which includes the Meadowhall centre in Sheffield, and the Bon Accord and St Nicholas centres in Aberdeen and St Stephen’s in Hull – as a factor in its fall in profits.
British Land’s retail property arm – which represents 41.6 per cent of British Land’s portfolio – fell 3.8 per cent for the period, with retail warehousing sliding 4.9 per cent in value and shopping centres declining 3.2 per cent in value.
British Land chief executive Stephen Hester said: “British Land’s first quarter results showcase the company’s operating resilience and the fruits of our activist, customer-focused strategy. They also reflect the pressures of a challenging external environment, as asset valuations continue their decline and previously above-trend rental growth moves prospectively to below trend.
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