LandSec bounces back

Land Securities posted interim pretax profits of £455.3m, bouncing back from a loss of £4.6m for the same period last year. It reported rental values up 1.1 percent across the total like-for-like portfolio since March and adjusted diluted net asset value per share up from 691p at the end of March to 737p at the end of September.

Francis Salway, chief executive, said the performance reflected the benefit of moves; the UK’s largest property company had made to position the business for the recovery in the commercial property market. He said it had committed significant capital to developments and it was already driving returns with a valuation uplift on the development programme of just under 10 percent in the six months.

“In London, we believe that developing in a supply-constrained market is a highly attractive opportunity. We were the first to start a large development programme in London, and we have been the first to take profits from it. We have the finance, the schemes and expertise to start additional projects in London in 2011,” he said