British Land Share Price (BLND)

BLND - British Land Investor Summary

British Land is a real estate investment trust listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 share price index. The company is the largest real estate owner in the United Kingdom and owns a significant amount of assets in the City of London. The precursor to the company, the National Freehold Land Society, was established to allow ordinary citizens to become landowners in the 19th century as land ownership was pre-requisite for the right to vote at the time.

By the mid 20th century the company began to develop a portfolio of property to rent for profit as well as for development. The company was merged with Union Property Holdings in the early 1970s significantly increasing its market presence. After suffering due to the conditions placed on the property market due to the economic conditions later in that decade the company sold some assets at the beginning of the 1980s to improve liquidity. The company profited enormously from the 'big bang' in the City of London in the 1980s and took advantage of the redevelopment opportunities in the city by investing in a number of significant redevelopment sites. Since then the company has acquired a portfolio spread further around Britain, acquiring shopping centre specialist Pillar Property in 2005. British Land now holds such assets as the Meadowhall Shopping Centre, Sheffield and Broadgate, London. The company has also acquired a large proporition of the freehold to land occupied by British supermarkets. The company currently employs less than 1000 people yet currently holds a portfolio valued at over £11 billion.