Commercial Finance Specialists

British Land sees rise in commercial portfolio value in three months to December 2009.

British Land recorded an 8.2 per cent rise in the value of its commercial development portfolio in the third quarter of the 2009 financial year.

The listed property company's Third Quarter Report indicated that it had achieved an underlying before-tax profit of £58 million.

Among its achievements for the three months to December was a £3.6 million per annum retail rent generated across 1.7 million sq ft of lettings and rent reviews.

The company also successfully completed the construction of 370,000 sq ft of West End office commercial development properties.

Commenting on the results, chief executive of British Land Chris Grigg explained: "Our office portfolio is well positioned as London letting activity picks up.

"We have over 250,000 sq ft of space under offer, including nearly 220,000 sq ft to Macquarie, and have over 650,000 sq ft of additional new space available from recent development activity."

Last week, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors indicated that investors are showing a renewed interest in European commercial real estate, but warned that the sector's recovery will be gradual.