British Land said Meta Platforms surrendered one of the two buildings it had leased at London's Regent's Place, as tech companies turn cautious about office real estate due to prevailing macroeconomic uncertainties.
The property firm said the lease surrender would lead to an earnings per share dilution of about 0.6p for its half-year period ending September 30th.
The FTSE midcap firm said it was "comfortable" with current market expectations for the 2024 fiscal year despite the move by the Facebook-owner, as it saw a better-than-anticipated collection of historic Covid-19 arrears.
British Land said 1.2 million square feet of leasing was done across the portfolio in the first five months to August 31st, with the returns coming in 13.1 per cent ahead of estimated rental value (ERV).
The company last week raised its retail park estimated rental value growth outlook for fiscal year 2024 to 3-5 per cent from 2-4 per cent earlier, driven by "significant" leasing momentum in the business. -Reuters
