Landlord takes £557m hit

THE value of shopping centre owner Land Securities’ property empire fell by more than half a billion pounds last year as the crisis on the High Street took its toll.

The company, which owns retail parks and shopping centres across the country including in Leeds, Oxford, Glasgow and London, was hit by store closures.

Land Securities, which has a stake in Kent’s Bluewater centre, said assets fell £557m in value to £13.8bn in the year ended March 31, driven by a 15.5pc fall in the value of its retail parks and an 11.7pc dip in the worth of its shopping centres.

Annual losses tripled to £123m, compared with a £43m loss a year ago, despite revenue growing 9pc to £442m. Chief executive Robert Noel said the bigger loss was set ‘against the backdrop of political gridlock and the well-publicised difficulties in the retail market’.

Big-name High Street brands such as Top Shop owner Arcadia, Debenhams and New Look have suffered as consumers move online, while business rates are rising.

In a pessimistic forecast, Noel said: ‘We see no near-term improvement in retail market conditions. Rental values are likely to decline further in shopping centres and retail parks.’ The company is focusing on London, where it expects the market to outperform the rest of the UK.

Its dividend rose 3.1pc to 45.55p and shares fell 1.4pc, or 12.6p, at 879.6p.