British Land maintains solid leasing momentum

(Sharecast News) - British Land said in an update on Wednesday that it maintained strong leasing momentum in the third quarter, signing 882,000 square feet of deals across 151 transactions in the three months ended 31 December, with rents agreed 8.5% ahead of estimated rental value and 10.2% above previous passing rent. The FTSE 100 company said a further 1.8 million square feet of space was under offer across the portfolio at the quarter end, with those deals 8.1% ahead of ERV and 14.6% above previous passing rent.

Within its campuses portfolio, it completed 380,000 square feet of leasing across 61 deals, 6.6% ahead of ERV and 19.6% above previous passing rent, with a further 1.1 million square feet under offer at 5.5% ahead of ERV.

At One Triton Square, the company said 63,000 square feet of leasing had now been completed or exchanged including deals signed after the period ended, with new occupiers spanning biopharmaceutical, healthcare and technology, and a further 166,000 square feet under offer.

It said the building was now 72% let or under offer by floor area.

British Land also said it would relocate its head office from York House to 20 Triton Street at the Regent's Place campus in the summer, and that an occupier had signed a new lease for the space to be vacated at York House.

Broadgate delivered 178,000 square feet of leasing during the quarter, with a further 806,000 square feet under offer, which British Land said included several lease renewals as occupiers prioritised "high-quality, well-located buildings" that met modern performance and amenity standards against a constrained supply backdrop in the City.

In retail, British Land completed 502,000 square feet of leasing across 90 deals, including 383,000 square feet on retail parks, where it said transactions were 12.0% ahead of ERV.

It reported a further 727,000 square feet under offer in retail, 12.5% ahead of ERV.

With the retail park portfolio "now largely rack rented" and occupancy high, the company said deals completed in the period were 4.7% ahead of previous passing rent, while under-offer deals were 5.4% ahead.

It said retail park occupancy was 99% and footfall rose 2.2% year on year.

"Strong occupational fundamentals across our London campuses and retail parks are driving deals ahead of previous passing rent and supporting the lease up of our developments," said chief executive Simon Carter.

"Within our campus portfolio, demand from science and technology occupiers continues to accelerate and we are pleased to have completed 63,000 square feet of lettings at One Triton Square, with a further 166,000 square feet under offer. In retail parks, performance remains strong, with 383,000 square feet of deals ahead of previous passing rents and continued growth in footfall."

Carter said the company had made "another good quarter" and reported an "encouraging start to the fourth quarter", reiterating guidance for at least 28.5p of underlying earnings per share for the 2026 financial year and growth of at least 6% for 2027, which it put at 30.2p.

At 0856 GMT, shares in British Land Company were down 0.05% at 405.2p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.