Broker snap: British Land well-positioned, says Panmure Gordon

29th Jan 2013 09:39

Panmure Gordon has raised its target price for real estate group British Land from 570p to 600p and retained its 'buy' rating following the company's third-quarter trading update.The broker labelled Tuesday's statement as "robust" with British Land saying it has performed well against a difficult market backdrop. Panmure said that the group has a "relatively defensive" portfolio and is well-positioned in the current economic climate."We expect British Land will continue to outperform the wider property market, demonstrating the underlying strength and resilience of British Land's business. This results from the fact that British Land is focused in prime properties in retail and geographically attractive Central London offices," the broker said."Rental income should continue to grow as the group maximises the potential of its portfolio, while a strong balance sheet will allow further acquisitions to follow. The group's significant development programme in Central London should allow the group to further increase its income stream."The stock is trading at 0.94 times prospective net asset value (NAV), while its 600p target price is based on a target price-to-NAV of 1.0. The company also offers an "attractive and predictable" 4.7% dividend yield, Panmure said.Shares were down 0.18% at 562.5p by 09:37.BC