British Land hails strong third quarter after Norton Folgate victory

Fresh from controversial victory in its Shoreditch planning battle, British Land has hailed a strong third quarter for retail and offices, with a dividend up 2.5%.

Although mindful of an economic outlook that is "clearly more uncertain since the half year", the company pledged a third quarter dividend at 7.09 pence after it leased 312,000 sq ft of property across its two divisions, with estimated market rental value (ERV) 8.5% ahead of the previous quarter's.

The majority of these were in retail, where 290,000 sq ft of new lettings or renewals were completed at 7.3% ahead of ERV, with a further 300,000 sq ft under offer.

There was £207m of non-core, single-let retail asset disposals exchanged or completed in the quarter, including £94m of superstores, as management re-focused the portfolio towards multi-let developments.

Investment in the retail portfolio helped boost footfall 2%, with extensions at Whiteley Shopping Centre near Portsmouth and a flagship new store at Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh.

Planning permission was gained for a revised plan in London's 100 Liverpool St with additional retail space, while agreement was reached with Southwark Council over a development at Canada Water.

Post period-end, London mayor Boris Johnson on Monday overruled the unanimous vote of the Tower Hamlets planning committee to approve British Land's Norton Folgate development in Shoreditch, which has been mired in controversy due to conservation issues.

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."

Noting that the offices portfolio is now virtually full with lettings completed ahead of valuers' assumptions, he concluded: "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."