British Land reports strong start to the year, says Cheesegrater now 90% full

20th Jul 2015 08:22

(ShareCast News) - British Land said it has had a good start to the year, with strong occupational demand and lettings well ahead of estimated market rental value.In its first-quarter trading update, the company said its Leadenhall Building, also known as the Cheesegrater, is now 90% full, with 107,000 square feet of new lettings and 52,000 square feet under offer.British Land reported 129,000 sq ft of Retail lettings/renewals and 132,000 sq ft of Office lettings/renewals.The company said it handed over 5 Broadgate to UBS in June and took advantage of favourable market conditions to raise £350m of convertible bonds at a zero coupon.British Land said its financial position remains strong and confirmed a first-quart dividend of 7.09p, up 2.5% from last year.Chief executive Chris Gigg said: "We've had a good start to the year, making real progress against the priorities set out at our results in May in what are strong occupational and investment markets."In Retail, our operational metrics remain strong and we continue to recycle capital by selling selected mature assets and investing into our existing portfolio. In Offices, we're pleased with the deals we've done at the Leadenhall Building and in the supply constrained City market we're positive about our prospects on the remaining space."Numis said the statement was "brief but positive," highlighting the ongoing momentum in the business."British Land remains in a good position with decent interest in its outstanding office developments, operational performance in its retail portfolio continuing to outperform the market, and a robust balance sheet with well diversified sources of capital," said Numis, which rates the stock at 'add' with a 964p price target.Investec said the update was "solid" with "broadly positive operational metrics", adding that the shares look good value.It rates the stock at 'buy' with a 904p price target.Charles Stanley, which also rates the stock at 'buy', said: "British Land continues to deliver a solid operational performance in line with expectations. Market fundamentals remain robust and the benefits of management actions are starting to come through."It added that the valuation remains undemanding. At 13:10, shares were up 0.3% at 849.40p.