Hester says London office rents would show single-digit percentage growth this year. A year ago they were effectively flat. The company's focus on shifting to out-of-town shopping centers would help it to overcome overall weakness in the retail sector.
The office market "is tightening," he says, "vacancy rates are coming down and demand is reasonably healthy. That will lead to a single-digit percentage growth this year and probably that growth will become a bit faster next year. But it is moving up initially in a measured way."
Officials of British Land, the owner of the Broadgate office complex, say net asset value per share was 10.7% at the end of December compared to the end of September. Underlying profit before tax and gains on asset disposals and revaluation was euro 103.5 million ($124 million) in the quarter. Comparison figures were not immediately available since it was the first time the 150-year-old company has released quarterly results.
© 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.
