Land Securities Group PLC on Tuesday swung to a pretax profit as it posted record leasing, high occupancy and a climb in its portfolio valuation for its financial year.

For the year ended March 31, the London-based property developer and investor posted swung to a pretax profit of £875 million from a loss of £1.39 billion the previous year.

Revenue climbed 6.9% to £679 million from £635 million.

Land Securities explained that it had seen strong London office leasing and valuation growth in retail and its mixed-use urban pipeline.

The company added it delivered record leasing in the year and high occupancy levels at 95%. Its portfolio also saw a 3.6% uplift in its valuation in the year, with central London values up 3.7%. Central London makes up 65% of its overall portfolio.

Land Securities noted inflationary pressures moving forward but nonetheless said its outlook remains confident.

Chief Executive Mark Allan said: ‘Landsec is in a strong position, financially and operationally, and we expect delivering on our strategy to drive material growth in income and, on average, a mid to high single digit annual return on equity over time.’

Shares in Land Securities were up 0.6% at 746.20 pence on Tuesday morning in London.

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.