Commercial property firms have underperformed the wider real estate sector as multiple lockdowns and an ongoing moratorium on rent collection squeezed valuations of retail-focused assets, while remote working has weighed on office portfolios.
Land Securities, which counts office space as its biggest segment, said the value of its combined portfolio declined 13.7% to 10.8 billion pounds ($15.32 billion).
On a like-for-like basis, regional shopping centres and shops saw the largest reduction in value, down 38.2%, while leisure assets declined 22.9% and office assets dropped 4.3%.
"UK mall valuation declines look to have peaked in (the first half of 2021) and should stabilise from here," JP Morgan analysts wrote in a note.
Land Securities Chief Executive Officer Mark Allan said there was a "real prospect of a strong consumption-led recovery" through the remainder of 2021 and 2022, although it would take longer for central London footfall to recover fully.
The company, one of Britain's biggest commercial landlords, said a per share measure which reflects the value of its buildings, EPRA Net Tangible Assets, fell 17.4% to 985 pence.
The FTSE 100 firm reported a loss before tax of 1.39 billion pounds ($1.97 billion) for the 12 months ended March 31, its biggest since 2009 and compared with a loss of 837 million pounds a year earlier.
The company reduced net debt by 433 million pounds to 3.51 billion pounds over the year and declared a final dividend of 9 pence per share, having resumed quarterly payouts in November.
($1 = 0.7051 pounds)
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Kirsten Donovan)
By Aby Jose Koilparambil
