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London
Heading back to the office: Office and retail real estate investment trust (Reit) British Land reported profits of £960m in the year to March, up from a loss of £1.08bn the year before. Underlying profit (rental income) rose 25% to £251m and net tangible assets were up by 12.1%. The Reit also reported the highest volume of lettings in ten years. Close peer Land Securities also reported a return to the black and record levels of leasing in its London offices.
The results are “proof that working from home and online retail hasn’t killed off offices and shops”, says Alistair Osborne in The Times. But there’s another message behind them. “Getting staff back into the office for even three days a week is no slam dunk”. Thus employers have “gravitated to quality”, as British Land’s CEO Simon Carter puts it. That benefits his firm’s modern, centrally located and green sites such as
