British Land has recorded what it described as an "excellent year for leasing", as its availability for "high-quality space" reached near record lows.

The real estate investment and development company, which manages a portfolio valued at £15.2bn, said it expects underlying profit to total £294m in the year to 31 March, marking a 5.3% increase, while its earnings per share (EPS) is set to beat expectations and reach 28.9 pence.

The firm said that in its London campuses, leasing momentum has been strong over the year, with 215 deals covering 1.69m sq ft, while across its wider portfolio, vacancy has continued to be leased up and occupancy is now at 95%, up from 92% in September.

Furthermore, its retail park portfolio remains at 99% occupancy.

Looking ahead, the firm now expects its EPS for the 2027 financial year of at least 30.5 pence, which is ahead of previous guidance of at least 30.2 pence, following the acquisition of Life Science REIT.

Furthermore, British Land has reiterated its EPS per annum growth of between 3% and 6% over the medium term, with ERV growth of between 3% and 5% across its portfolio in the same period.

Following the update, shares in British Land increased by 1.2%.

Chief executive at British Land, Simon Carter, stated: "This has been an excellent year of leasing, reflecting our market-leading position in campuses and retail parks, where availability for high-quality space in the right locations is near record lows, and occupational fundamentals continue to strengthen, despite ongoing macroeconomic volatility.

"In campuses, we are seeing accelerating demand from a new wave of AI and innovation-led occupiers, driving strong rental growth in what remains a supply constrained market. Our virtually full retail park portfolio delivered positive leasing against previous passing rents of 6.3% in the second half of the year. The dynamics in both markets have translated into strong like-for-like rental growth of 6% which, combined with development leasing and disciplined cost control, has more than offset higher funding costs.

"With continued momentum across the portfolio, including particularly strong Q4 leasing, and the earnings accretive acquisition of Life Science REIT completing yesterday, we are confident in our earnings growth outlook for FY27 and beyond."

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