Landsec swings to loss as London office valuations drop

One of many UK’s high landlords has swung to a loss after an nearly 10 per cent drop within the worth of its Metropolis of London places of work, in an early signal that greater rates of interest may set off a widespread business property downturn.

Landsec on Tuesday reported a pre-tax lack of £192mn for the six months to the tip of September, in contrast with a £275mn revenue in the identical interval final yr, because the valuation of its portfolio of nationwide places of work and outlets fell 2.9 per cent to £10.9bn.

The steepest falls had been on the FTSE 100 landlord’s almost £2bn portfolio of Metropolis of London places of work, which misplaced 9.7 per cent of their worth within the interval.

Mark Allan, chief government, stated rising borrowing prices had modified the outlook for the sector.

“The fabric improve in bond yields since March has began to place upward stress on property yields, principally for these belongings the place yields had been lowest,” he stated. “Within the sectors we’re in, this principally affected London places of work.”

Rates of interest have been rising since late final yr, when the Bank of England moved the benchmark price up from historic lows.

A better base price has elevated the price of borrowing and made business property much less enticing to institutional buyers that may now maintain bonds with the same yield however decrease danger than places of work or outlets. The outcome has been to push up property yields — which transfer inversely to costs.

Allan added that the outlook was more and more difficult.

“A long time of globalisation, fuelling development and miserable inflation, have began to enter reverse, with rising geopolitical tensions including to dangers round power reliance and provide chains,” he stated.

Colm Lauder, an analyst at Goodbody, stated Landsec’s outcomes had given an early style of what’s to come back for business property homeowners.

“The ache that’s coming by within the second half [of the year] goes to be considerably worse,” he stated. “The market has moved on a lot since September.”

The “mini” Budget put ahead by former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on September 23 and ultimately dismantled by his successor Jeremy Hunt accelerated a rise in property yields, as buyers began pricing in greater danger and expectations of additional rate of interest rises.

With the measures in that Funds now rejected and the market pricing in additional reasonable inflation and a much less extreme improve in borrowing prices than beforehand feared, the corporate’s share worth has risen by nearly 20 per cent prior to now month.

Nonetheless, underlying property values are prone to proceed falling.

Lauder estimated that yields for prime business property belongings akin to high-grade London places of work or city warehouses may transfer to five per cent, from a place to begin earlier this yr of shut to three per cent — implying rather more important drops in valuation than these revealed thus far.

Landsec can also be contending with comparatively excessive workplace emptiness charges of 12.2 per cent within the Metropolis of London, as companies think about their post-Covid office wants.