Two of Britain’s largest commercial landlords were eyeing a property swap, it was reported on Monday, which could see the massive Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield change hands.
According to the Times, British Land and Land Securities had held initial talks over the potential £800m deal, which would see Landsec acquire British Land’s 50% share in Meadowhall.
In return, British Land would take over Landsec’s portfolio of 10 retail parks.
The Times said talks between the companies began last summer, and while they had recently stalled, the deal still remained possible.
Management at both companies were facing pressure to close their gaping stock-to-asset value gaps, with Landsec trading at a 24% discount to the book value of its assets, and British Land at a 25% discount.
Meadowhall – jointly owned by British Land and Norges Bank – was given a value of £778.7m last March, while Landsec’s retail park portfolio was valued at £405m in September.
At 1011 GMT, shares in British Land were down 0.27% at 518.4p, while Land Securities was flat at 169p.
