Meadowhall extension planned despite sale talk
Meadowhall owner British Land has said plans for a 70,000 sq ft retail development next to the shopping centre are being prepared. The extension plans were confirmed in the property giant's third quarter results as speculation mounts that British Land is looking to sell a stake in the development.
In a commentary about its retail portfolio, British Land said it was preparing plans for land adjacent to Meadowhall.
The company did not comment on reports claiming it is looking to sell a 25 per cent stake in the Sheffield shopping centre.
Reports about a possible sale first emerged last month, with London & Stamford said to be appointing sale advisers.
The Sunday Times claimed that London & Stamford, which owns half of the shopping mall, has placed a £1.6bn price tag on the mall. The property business and its Middle Eastern backers are understood to have appointed Savills to start a marketing drive. Meadowhall was built by Yorkshire entrepreneurs Eddie Healey and Paul Sykes, opening in 1990. It was bought by British Land in 1999 for £1bn.
During the quarter, British Land secured a new letting with Urban Outfitters, and further lettings to M&S, Next and Asda Living.
The company said its portfolio valuation had risen to £10.3bn and it had completed £1.2bn of financing activity during 2011.
"These results reflect the resilience of British Land's business," said chief executive Chris Grigg.
"It is noteworthy that underlying profits are up 6.3 per cent despite the tougher economic environment. At the same time, occupancy, income and ERV all rose in the quarter. We have also made further progress on our office development programme.
"In total, we have now locked in future annual rent of £32m through a series of binding pre-lets. These pre-lets mean that our office development programme is already 50 per cent pre-let even though it mainly reaches practical completion between 2013 and 2014.
"Of course, the current economic outlook is uncertain, but overall our business is defensively positioned today and will benefit further as economic growth returns."
