British Land shares (LON: BLND) were down on Wednesday after the group revealed a loss and a reduced dividend.
For the half-year to September 30, the group posted a pretax loss of £757m, which widened from the £440m loss posted in the same period a year previously.
Revenues at the group were also lower, falling 22% from £328m to £255m.
The group’s portfolio value fell 7.5% to £10.32bn from £11.16bn.
Chief executive, Chris Grigg, is to be replaced this week by finance chief Simon Carter.
Carter commented on the latest results: “Our first half results naturally reflect the challenges in retail. Against this backdrop, we remain focused on active asset management, working to maximise rent collection and keeping our units occupied with successful retailers. There is a clear preference from shoppers and retailers for out of town, open air retail parks. Our approach and attractive asset mix means that prior to the November lockdown, we were delivering significant outperformance on footfall and retailer sales and a steady improvement in rent collection levels.
“We remain thoughtful and active in terms of capital allocation, executing GBP675m of sales since April, enhancing the strength and resilience of our balance sheet. We have also resumed the dividend on the basis of a fixed percentage payout of underlying earnings to provide maximum strategic and financial flexibility.
“Going forward, we have four clear priorities for our business: realising the potential of mixed use; progressing value accretive development; addressing the challenges in retail; and active capital recycling,” he added.
British Land will be continuing dividend payments of 8.4p. This is lower than last year’s rate of 15.97p.
British Land shares (LON: BLND) are trading -2.31% at 499,20 (1537GMT).
