British Land lauds London office market as pre-tax profits rise

The chief executive of British Land was bullish on Thursday as he revealed strong full-year results for the property giant, and praised London’s resilient office market for helping to offset difficulties in retail.

Chris Grigg said: “The London office market is key for us, with businesses continuing to commit to new headquarters.”

British Land said pre-tax profits more than doubled to £501 million in the year to March 31 as the value of its property empire rose 2.2% to £13.7 billion.

Underlying profits fell 2.6% to £380 million because of lost income after building disposals.

Grigg cheered 1.2 million square feet of office deals in the capital in the period, up four times on the previous year and despite concerns over the possible effects of Brexit.

Grigg warned, however, that the company has had some exposure to recent retail and restaurant failures and admitted “conditions are likely to remain challenging”.

British Land’s future projects including a mega regeneration scheme in Canada Water. It this week lodged plans to create thousands of homes and new shops in the area.