British Land raises earnings guidance after Life Science REIT deal

(Alliance News) - British Land Co PLC shares rose on Tuesday as it said underlying earnings for ...

Alliance News 21 April, 2026 | 9:25AM
Email Form Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS

(Alliance News) - British Land Co PLC shares rose on Tuesday as it said underlying earnings for the financial year just ended will be ahead of its prior guidance and it raised guidance for the new year on the back of its recent acquisition of Life Science REIT.

British Land shares were up 2.5% to 405.49 pence early Tuesday in London. They were the third biggest gainer in the FTSE 100 index, which was up 0.2%.

British Land is a London-based real estate investment trust focused on UK commercial and retail property. It completed the GBP150 million acquisition of peer Life Science REIT on Monday. Life Science REIT focuses investment on UK properties leased to tenants in the life science sector.

British Land estimated underlying earnings per share of 28.9 pence for the financial year that ended March 31, up 1.4% from 28.5p in financial 2025. This is ahead of the company's prior guidance, given in January, for underlying EPS of at least 28.5p. Underlying profit is estimated at GBP294 million, up 5.4% from GBP279 million.

Total accounting return for the recent financial year will be 8.1%, British Land said, within the company's 8% to 10% 'through the cycle' target.

Like-for-like net rental growth was 6% in financial 2026, ahead of prior guidance. This includes 12% growth for British Land's office campuses. Occupancy stands at 95%, up from 92% at the half-year stage in September.

Chief Executive Simon Carter said British Land is seeing "accelerating demand from a new wave of AI and innovation-led occupiers", driving rental growth.

"This has been an excellent year of leasing, reflecting our market-leading position in campuses and retail parks, where availability for high-quality space in the right locations is near record lows, and occupational fundamentals continue to strengthen, despite ongoing macroeconomic volatility."

Looking ahead, British Land raised its outlook for financial 2027 to underlying EPS of at least 30.5p, up from its previous guidance of at least 30.2p. The company said this is thanks to the acquisition of Life Science REIT, which will contribute about 1% EPS accretion in the year ahead.

British Land also confirmed its guidance for 3% to 6% per annum EPS growth over the medium term.

EPRA net tangible assets were 590p per share on March 31, up from 567p a year before. Portfolio valuation was up 2.3% during financial 2026, with office campus values up 2.0% and retail parks up 3.3%.

By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Email Form Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS

Securities Mentioned in Article

Security Name Price Change (%) Morningstar
Rating
British Land Co PLC 405.50 GBX 2.45 -

About Author

Alliance News

Alliance News provides Morningstar with continuously updating coverage of news affecting listed companies.

© Copyright 2025 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Terms of Use        Privacy Policy        Modern Slavery Statement        Cookie Settings        Disclosures