Land Securities’ show of resilience as it sees losses widen to £837m
LAND SECURITIES GROUP, the company behind the Trinity Leeds shopping centre, said it had delivered a resilient operational performance over the last financial year, despite suffering a heavy loss.
The company, which also manages the Bluewater Shopping Centre, said its loss widened to £837m for the full year ended March 31, compared with a loss of £123m last year.
Retail property owners and tenants have been working together to defer rent payments and find other solutions that will help shops, businesses and landlords to ride out the crisis stemming from coronavirus shutdowns.
The company’s chief executive, Mark Allan, said: “I join Landsec at an extraordinary time.
“The effects of Covid-19 are accelerating ongoing structural trends across the real estate sector, while its longerterm societal and economic consequences are yet to be determined.
“Landsec’s strong balance sheet and resilient operational performance have enabled us to respond to immediate challenges posed by Covid-19 with speed and decisiveness.
“Our £80m rent relief fund has offered targeted support to occupiers, alongside broader options of rent deferrals and monthly payments, and our £500,000 of community grants is providing financial assistance to our charity partners.”
The statement added: “In regional retail, we continued to improve both tenant mix and experience. Customer data and insight informs our decisions, enabling us to find the right occupiers for customer demand, and the right unit for each occupier.
“H&M also took a bigger store at Trinity Leeds.
“We’ve introduced new types of retailer to our centres, adding cycling concept store Peloton at Bluewater and Westgate Oxford.”
However, Landsec also warned that the effect of Covid-19 on the already struggling retail sector will be significant.
Our £80m rent relief fund has offered targeted support to occupiers.
Mark Allan, chief executive of Land Securities Group