British Land reports a rise in underlying profits

This is what the firm chief executive said

British Land has reported an increase in its underlying profits in the year to the end of March. This was helped by the sale of the City’s tallest tower known as the Cheesegrater, this was sold to China’s CC Land for £1.15bn.

Its underlying profits increased 7.4 per cent to £390m. This can be compared with last year’s figure of £363m.

Chris Grigg, chief executive said: “We are reporting a good set of results today despite an uncertain environment over the last 12 months.

“The increase in valuations in the second half is also better than many expected six months ago. These results reflect the continuing execution of our strategy, providing space that responds to changing lifestyles and really fulfils customers’ needs. We expect to be operating in an uncertain environment for some time; in this context, we will benefit from the resilience of our business, the quality of our portfolio and the strength of our finances.

“We also look forward with cautious optimism as we believe that we can generate incremental returns by allocating capital to development opportunities we have created, whilst keeping risk at an appropriate level and maintaining flexibility to respond to changes in our markets.”