British Land

The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm became a real estate investment trust when REITs were introduced in the UK in January 2007. It is headquartered in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index and a founding member of the European Public Real Estate Association.

The British Land Company plc
TypePublic limited company
LSE: BLND
FTSE 100 Component
IndustryReal estate
Founded1856 (1856)
HeadquartersLondon, England, UK
Key people
  • Sir John Ritblat (Honorary President)
  • Tim Score (chair­person) 
  • Lucinda Bell (Finance Director)
  • Charles Maudsley (Head of Retail and Leisure)
  • Tim Roberts (Head of Offices and Residential)
ProductsLondon offices and retail
Revenue£554 million (2019)[1]
£419 million (2019)[1]
£(320) million (2019)[1]
Websitewww.britishland.com

History

The British Land Company was founded in 1856 as an offshoot of the National Freehold Land Society (later Abbey National) formed in 1849 with the two chief architects of the freehold land movement Richard Cobden and John Bright. Both were ardent supporters of a movement to extend enfranchisement. To qualify for a parliamentary vote it was then necessary to be a landowner and the main object of the National Freehold was to facilitate the acquisition of small plots of land by the people. To do this the British Land Co. would purchase land and then resell it on the best terms to any customer who wanted to buy it. With extension of the franchise this reason ceased to govern the operation of the company, and it began to operate as a normal business in the latter part of the nineteenth century.[2]

In 2004 it received planning permission for a Richard Rogers designed skyscraper at 122 Leadenhall Street, known informally as "The Cheese Grater" in the City of London. Construction of the tower, which is the 6th tallest building in the United Kingdom, began in October 2007 and was completed in 2014.[3]

In May 2005 British Land announced that it had agreed to purchase Pillar Property Plc for £811 million in cash to boost its position in the out-of-town retail property sector.[4]

In 2006 Sir John Ritblat, who had chaired the company since 1970, stood down and was replaced by Chris Gibson-Smith.[5]

In November 2020, British Land wrote down the value of its portfolio by almost £1bn after retail income fell due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[6]

Operations
The Broadgate Estate in London

As of 31 March 2019 the company owned a portfolio valued at £11.9 billion.[1] The portfolio includes the Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield, which is one of the largest in the UK, and a large amount of property which has been purchased from and leased back to major retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, House of Fraser and Asda. This includes the Broadgate Estate, one of the largest developments in London over several decades,[7] and Regent's Place near Warren Street Station.[8]

In October 2011, the company placed in the number one position, with 135 subsidiaries, on a list of FTSE 100 companies that use tax havens for their operations, as revealed in a database of their subsidiaries compiled for the first time by the development charity ActionAid.[9]

Main projects

References
  1. "Annual Report 2019" (PDF). British Land. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  2. W. C. March, The British Land Company Ltd. Centenary Booklet 1956
  3. "British Land pre-lets 10 floors of office space to Aon in the Cheese Grater building". SOS News. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  4. "British Land launches Pillar bid". BBC News. 23 May 2005. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  5. "Gibson-Smith to helm British Land". The Telegraph. London. 14 July 2006. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  6. Kollewe, Julia (18 November 2020). "Shopping centre owner British Land takes £1bn hit to portfolio". Guardian. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  7. Wearden, Graeme (18 September 2009). "British Land to sell half of Broadgate stake to Blackstone". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  8. "British Land - creating a masterplan for one of London's most deprived areas". The Guardian. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  9. Lawrence, Felicity (11 October 2011). "Third of votes cast against British Land pay report". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  10. "5 Broadgate Under Construction". Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  11. "Paddington's Kingdom Street scheme to be expanded". 14 May 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  12. "New London Development-Blossom Street, E1". Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  13. "British Land kicks off its £1bn spending spree with Surrey Quays stake". 4 April 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  14. "British Land Reaches Key Milestone in the Redevelopment of Harmsworth Quays". 4 April 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
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