Retail property manager Hammerson (LON:HMSO) reported strong growth in the first quarter of the year, despite the “challenging” High Street environment.

UK retail sales fell 2 percent, as severe weather and subdued consumer confidence weighed on performance, but net asset value grew 1.8 percent as the group retained earnings and improved valuation gains.

Leases signed across the group rose to £7 million, up 59 percent compared to the same period a year ago, reporting ‘good progress’ on its existing projects, including the Brent Cross extension. Portfolio occupancy improved from 96.6 percent to 97.1 percent at 31 March 2018.

David Atkins, Chief Executive of Hammerson, said:

“Whilst we recognise the difficult trading environment and challenges felt by many retail and restaurant formats in the UK, there continues to be good demand for space across our centres. The Easter trading weekend again demonstrated that not all retail is equal with our centres delivering positive footfall growth of 5% compared to average reported Easter footfall across all shops of -2.4%.

“The positive momentum of the business is a mark of the quality of our portfolio and the skill of our team which are delivering continued income growth and will drive future shareholder returns.”