Landsec boosts profit amid residential and retail pivot
Property investment group Land Securities – known as Landsec – has reported a five per cent boost amid a strategic repositioning of the firm’s commercial property portfolio in favour of residential and retail property.
Profit before tax rose to £395m from £341m, as the group plans to invest £1bn in retail and more than £2bn in a residential property platform.
EPRA earnings – earnings from operational activities – ticked up to £374m in 2025, up from £371m in 2024.
The group reported net assets value per share of 877p at the end of the year, up from 863p reported at the end of 2024.
It announced two per cent increase in the annual dividend to 40.4p per share.
Landsec’s chief executive Mark Allan said: “Owning the right real estate has never been more important. Irrespective of sector, there is a clear focus from customers on best-in-class space and as this space remains in short supply, rents are growing.
“As such, we are confident in how we have repositioned our portfolio over the past four years.”
Allan added: “Whilst we are mindful of the recent rise in global economic uncertainty, we are yet to see any impact of this on customer demand or investment markets.
“Given the actions we have taken over the past few years, our outlook for EPS growth and return on equity therefore remains positive.”
Strategic shift
These results come amid a strategic shift for the property group. Landsec is increasingly pivoting away from its core London office business, and the firm plans to have its portfolio split evenly between offices, retail, and residential property by 2030.
Landsec returned to profit in November, amid a property market rebound driven by a property market recovery and the enduring strength of London rentals.
In a major investment in its retail property business line, Landsec bought a 92 per cent controlling stake in the Liverpool One shopping centre for £490m in November from the Duke of Westminster’s property firm, Grosvenor and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Allan told The Times in March that the firm’s repositioning was “not revolutionary”, adding that “we’ve said we’re going to grow our earnings by 20 per cent from where they are today by 2030.
“Broadly speaking, if you buy a Landsec share today you get an earnings yield of about 9 per cent and what we’re saying is we’re going to grow that by about 4 per cent a year over the next five years”.