The tax criticism from LandSec comes weeks before ministers are expected to outline consultation on plans for a new development land tax, the so-called planning-gain supplement. The tax is expected to be levied on the increase in value on a piece of land once it receives planning permission.
At the same time, the company, explaining that the Government was continuing to work on plans to introduce REITs into the UK, applauded the move. Francis Salway, chief executive, said LandSec would prefer to convert the whole company into a REIT if the legislation goes ahead.
The comments came as LandSec reported a forecast-beating set of interim results. The company reported a 13.8% uplift in underlying net asset value per share and a 7.2% rise in the value of its property investment portfolio to euro 16.9 billion ($19.7 billion).
The group highlighted a particularly strong performance from its development projects, which soared in value by 18.6% to euro 1.4 billion ($1.7 billion). The best performing development asset was Cardinal Place, its office and shopping development in Victoria, complex have risen sharply, and the company is optimistic about continued recovery in the Central London office market next year. Salway was also bullish about the retail property market, after revealing that Harvey Nichols has agreed to open a store at a new retail project in Bristol that LandSec is building in partnership with Hammerson.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
