TIDMBLND
RNS Number : 3099L
British Land Co PLC
18 July 2017
British Land AGM statement and announcement of GBP300 million
share buy-back programme
18 July 2017
Against a backdrop of continuing strong demand in its investment
markets, British Land announces that it intends to allocate up to
GBP300 million of capital to a share buy-back during the current
financial year.
The Board regularly reviews capital allocation to optimise
long-term returns for shareholders. Since the year end, the Company
has continued to sell into a strong investment market. However,
currently, opportunities to purchase at attractive returns are more
limited, and investment in the Company's shares at the prevailing
discount offers better value than further asset acquisitions.
Since the start of the financial year, the Company has achieved
good disposal and leasing progress and continued to develop the
pipeline of development opportunities that it has already created.
At the AGM today, the following overview of recent activity will be
provided:
-- Since the Full Year Results announcement in May, the sale of
The Leadenhall Building for GBP575 million (BL share) has been
completed, GBP135 million assets have been sold and a further GBP88
million are under offer
-- In total, 370,000 sq ft of lettings and renewals were made
during the first quarter at 7.8% ahead of ERV
-- A further 870,000 sq ft of space is under offer or in
advanced negotiations across British Land's three London
campuses
-- This space under offer includes all 310,000 sq ft of office
space at 1 Triton Square, Regent's Place, the plans for which have
now been approved by the Mayor. The Company expects to commit to
this GBP200 million development in the next few weeks
-- At 1 Finsbury Avenue, part of the Broadgate Campus, work will
start on the GBP35 million (BL share) refurbishment next month,
adding retail, a new cinema and roof terrace to the building.
Exclusive discussions regarding 78,000 sq ft of this improved
space, representing 27% of the total available, are underway with
technology company, Mimecast
-- As part of the first-phase roll out of Storey, the flexible
workspace brand, the lease of 25,000 sq ft of space at 2 Finsbury
Avenue has been agreed with Kingfisher Digital
Chris Grigg, Chief Executive, will state: "This rolling buy-back
programme reflects our commitment to seeking the best long-term
returns for shareholders.
"We continue to see strong demand in the investment market,
which makes opportunities to acquire new standing assets, at
attractive returns, more limited than usual. With our shares
trading at a substantial discount to NAV and providing a 5%
dividend yield, allocating capital into a share buy-back represents
a clear value opportunity.
"With substantial proceeds being realised from our disposals
programme, we do not expect any material change in our loan to
value ratio as a result of the share buy-back. We retain
significant resources to develop the pipeline of development
opportunities we have created and the flexibility to respond to any
changes in market conditions."
Dividend:
As announced at the Full Year Results, the first interim
dividend payment for the quarter ended 30 June 2017 will be 7.52
pence per share, a 3.0% increase on the comparable period last
year. The first interim dividend will be paid on 10 November 2017
to shareholders on the register at close of business on 6 October
2017 and will be a Property Income Distribution. The Company will
not be offering a SCRIP alternative with this dividend.
Other information:
A further announcement containing more detailed information
regarding the share buy-back will be released in due course, before
the start of any dealing under the share buy-back program.
Enquiries:
Investor Relations
Cressida Curtis,
British Land 020 7467 2938
Media
Pip Wood, British
Land 020 7467 2838
Guy Lamming, Finsbury 020 7251 3801
Gordon Simpson,
Finsbury 020 7251 3801
Notes to Editors
About British Land
Our portfolio of high quality UK commercial property is focused
on Retail around the UK and London Offices. We own or manage a
portfolio valued at GBP19.1 billion (British Land share: GBP13.9
billion) as at 31 March 2017 making us one of Europe's largest
listed real estate investment companies.
Our strategy is to provide places which meet the needs of our
customers and respond to changing lifestyles - Places People
Prefer. We do this by creating great environments both inside and
outside our buildings and use our scale and placemaking skills to
enhance and enliven them. This expands their appeal to a broader
range of occupiers, creating enduring demand and driving
sustainable, long term performance.
Our Retail portfolio is focused on Regional and Local multi-let
centres, and accounts for 48% of our portfolio. Our Offices
portfolio comprises three office-led campuses in central London as
well as high quality standalone buildings and accounts for 49% of
our portfolio. Increasingly our focus is on providing a mix of uses
and this is most evident at Canada Water, our 46 acre redevelopment
opportunity where we have plans to create a new neighbourhood for
London.
Sustainability is embedded throughout our business. Our places,
which are designed to meet high sustainability standards, become
part of local communities, provide opportunities for skills
development and employment and promote wellbeing. Our
industry-leading sustainability performance led to British Land
being named a European Sector Leader in the 2016 Global Real Estate
Sustainability Benchmark for the third year running.
In April 2016 British Land received the Queen's Award for
Enterprise: Sustainable Development, the UK's highest accolade for
business success for economic, social and environmental
achievements over a period of five years.
Further details can be found on the British Land website at
www.britishland.com.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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