If British Land really does manage to sell its half-stake in the Leadenhall Building, aka the Cheesegrater, it would be an enormous vote of confidence in the City property market. The company is not confirming that the asset is for sale, though it is worth about £500 million and the building is fully occupied.
A deal might have looked highly implausible in the summer, but half-year figures from British Land suggest that London property values are holding up. Its London portfolio is mainly offices after the sale of Debenhams’s Oxford Street store after the referendum and at a good price.
Net asset value is down by 3 per cent across the group to 891p, still a hefty premium to the share price, which lost 14p