Land Securities Group said it has repaid £1.5bn of its debt and will repay further facilities during the calendar year.
It said the decision will allow LandSecs to ‘return to a normal operating environment in its Security Group debt structure and positions the business strongly, while retaining significant firepower from the rights issue proceeds and asset sales to take advantage of market opportunities’.
After paying back the £1.5bn it is estimated that the loan-to-value in its debt structure will be approximately 59% based on March 2009 valuations.
Francis Salway, chief executive of LandSecs, said: ‘We said at the time of our rights issue that we would continue to actively manage our balance sheet and repay debt when appropriate. Our recent activity in executing sales, raising new debt facilities against assets and managing costs has reinforced our confidence in our forecasts and means we have taken this step earlier than our internal plans had assumed.
‘Today’s decision strengthens our hand in positioning the business in a secure and strong state ready to take advantage of future opportunities.’
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