British Land builds it rental stream

Rental income also rose significantly as more development projects reached completion, which bolstered the rental portfolio. The group also delivered 606,000 sq ft of retail lettings and renewals that were 8.4 per cent ahead of estimated rental value (ERV) and signed agreements for letting 507,00 sq ft in office book that were 10.4 per cent above ERV.

British Land continues to reap the rewards of 2010's decision to develop 2.7m sq ft of residential and office space, mostly in London. Residential sales reached £318m in the first half, which reduced the committed residential exposure to under £200m - comfortably within its self-imposed £500m limit. Since 2010, the development programme has generated profits of £800m, with more to come.

With the completion of the Leadenhall building, and the expected completion of 5 Broadgate early next year, 2010's development programme will be largely complete. There remains a significant pipeline of potential developments, but the emphasis in the first half focused on capital recycling - whereby mature assets are sold to free-up funds for further development.

In fact, there were no acquisitions in the first half, aside from a £74m investment in Hercules Unit Trust. It now owns 63.5 per cent of this Jersey-based property unit trust - British Land is its property adviser. Set against this, the group made disposals totalling £835m, including £121m-worth of underperforming superstore assets, albeit at a 5.5 per cent premium to book value. This reduces its superstore exposure to 12 per cent of the portfolio from 20 per cent in 2010. British Land also expects £288m of profits from recently-committed projects and a further £161m from its near-term pipeline.

UBS expects full-year adjusted book value of 806p a share (from 688p in 2014).