(Reuters) -British commercial property firm Land Securities Group Plc slumped to a half-year loss on Tuesday, as property valuations fell due to surging interest rates and inflation.
Aggressive interest rate hikes to tame high inflation and deepening recession worries are seen snuffing out a tentative recovery in the commercial property sector from pandemic lows.
“The rise in interest rates… meant that transaction volumes across global and UK property markets slowed considerably during the half-year and that, especially over the last few months, pricing started to adjust,” the company said in a statement.
Landsec, which has a wide portfolio comprising retail, leisure, workspace and residential assets, said loss before tax came in at 192 million pounds ($226.56 million) for the six months ended Sept. 30, compared to a profit of 275 million pounds a year earlier.
The FTSE 100 firm said EPRA (European Public Real Estate Association) Net Tangible Assets, a measure that reflects the value of its buildings, fell 5% to 1,010 pence, as of Sept. 30, compared with March-end.
($1 = 0.8477 pounds)
($1 = 0.8475 pounds)
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
