British Land confirmed it had received a payment of £149m, reportedly equivalent to about seven years’ rent, from social media giant Meta, which surrendered the lease it had agreed for the former’s 1 Triton Square in London’s Regent’s Place.
In an update to investors ahead of its half-year results on 13 November, British Land said while the surrender, made late last year, would result in a dilution in earnings per share, it was “comfortable with current market expectations”.
British Land chief executive Simon Carter said: “Meta’s surrender of 1 Triton Square also enables us to accelerate our plans to reposition Regent’s Place as London’s premier Innovation and Life Sciences campus.”
The firm also revealed it has struck 1.2m sq ft of leasing deals across its portfolio during the first five months of its financial year.
The group added that it had a further 1.1m sq ft of space under offer, 17.4% ahead of ERV and that it had £1.7bn of undrawn facilities and cash, with no requirement to refinance until early 2026.
Carter added: “Operationally we are seeing strong leasing activity, which reflects the exceptional quality of our portfolio and has resulted in our recent upgrade of the expected ERV growth in retail parks.
“We have also strengthened our balance sheet in the period and continue to recycle capital with the disposal of non-core assets for above book value.”
Carter is also set to put the group’s Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield on the market for around £750m, half its value in 2012.
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