 saw shares fall slightly on Thursday, after a third quarter trading statement showed a slight decline in occupancy rate.){kind=link}
British Land Co (LON:BLND) saw shares fall slightly on Thursday, after a third quarter trading statement showed a slight decline in occupancy rate since the vote to leave the European Union.
The company, who own, manage and develop a wide range of property across London, saw its occupancy rate fall to 97 percent in the third quarter, despite retailer sales rising 0.6 percent.
Both office lettings and renewals, including their new 7 Clarges Street office development are over 80 percent let or under offer at an average rent of £113 psf, in line with pre-referendum ERVs. The quarter also saw £34 million of residential disposals exchanged 10 percent ahead of valuation, including sales at Aldgate Place and one further apartment at Clarges Mayfair.
Chris Grigg, British Land Co’s CEO, said the company saw a “positive quarter” with a “strong portfolio”, but warned of “potential headwinds” going forward as Britain begins to exit the European Union:
“We have completed over 400,000 square feet of lettings across the business and are progressing discussions with a broad range of occupiers. 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.”
The strong figures suggest property demand from companies is holding up thus far, but may change in the light of Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech on Tuesday which detailed a ‘hard Brexit’ approach.
British Land own or manage total assets of £19.0 billion as valued at 30 September 2016. Shares in British Land have fallen 19 percent since the day before the vote to leave the European Union, and are currently down 2.18 percent in the wake of today’s announcement.