In an interim management statement for the quarter to 30 June 2013, British Land (LSE: BLND) — one of Europe’s largest real-estate investment trusts (REITs) — reported £512m of acquisitions since the beginning of 2013.
The majority of this was a £470m purchase of a major interest in Paddington Central, a mixed-use office-led estate near Paddington station. This brings British Land’s s investment of placing capacity to £758m in total.
The company also reported that £250m had been added to its near-term prospective pipeline, mainly in the form of London offices, bringing its total prospective total capital commitment to £780m.
The board has increased the dividend by 2.3%, to 6.75p for the quarter, and 27p for the full year, putting it on a current yield of 4.3%.
Commenting on the statement, British Land’s chief executive Chris Grigg said:
“We have had a good start to our financial year and our business continues to perform. The economy as a whole is showing some signs of returning confidence, London remains strong and while retail is still challenging, we continue to see encouraging levels of demand for our space. … Our decision to increase the dividend reflects our confidence in the business.”
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> Jon owns shares in British Land.
