British Land expects robust interim growth on office, retail park demand

Oct 15 (Reuters) - British Land said on Thursday it expects strong interim profit and rental income growth, driven by demand for its London office campuses and retail parks, with cost savings offsetting higher interest expenses and lower lease surrender premiums.

• The real estate group expects underlying profit of £166 million ($219.68 million) for the six months ended September 30, up from £155 million a year earlier, with underlying earnings per share of 16.1 pence

• British Land said the 12% like-for-like rental income growth for the first half, development lease-ups and cost savings more than offset the drag from higher interest rates and reduced surrender premiums - one-off payments from tenants exiting leases early

• The landlord, which counts Citadel and Gilead among its tenants, said its campus developments continued to lease up at record rents, with 1 Broadgate and One Triton Square now fully let

• It said its retail parks portfolio remained virtually full at 99% occupancy, with leasing 9.6% ahead of previous passing rents

• British Land reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 expectation of underlying EPS of at least 30.5 pence

($1 = 0.7556 pounds)

(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)