19th Oct 2020 08:14
(Alliance News) - Land Securities said on Monday it will sell off some properties in the hotels, leisure and retail parks space, three areas battered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Landsec set out a new strategic plan ahead of the property developer and investor's virtual capital markets day on Monday.
Perhaps the most notable measures unveiled will see Landsec "realise and recycle capital" from disposals in the hotels, leisure and retail parks sectors.
The firm added a review has found that "certain elements of our portfolio are subscale".
On the whole however, the property firm painted an optimistic picture about its retail assets, despite its regional shopping centres being among the worst-hit by the pandemic.
"Not all retail is the same. Regional shopping centres have been most impacted by these challenges, but these represent only 13% of our portfolio and our shopping centres are amongst the very best in the sector. Of the balance, our outlets remain an attractive subsector, many of our suburban shopping centres offer significant repurposing potential and our investment in retail parks is modest," Landsec explained.
Landsec also was bullish about the "quality of the central London portfolio", 64% of its property assets by value.
"London remains one of the world's gateway cities, and this portfolio represents a good source of liquidity over time, with clear potential to recycle capital out of some assets and reinvest into new growth opportunities," it said.
Landsec shares were up 0.5% early Monday. They are down 47% so far in 2020.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.5% at 5,950.58
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Hang Seng: up 0.6% at 24,543.49
Nikkei 225: closed up 1.1% at 23,671.13
DJIA: closed up 112.11 points, 0.4%, at 28,606.31
S&P 500: closed marginally higher at 3,483.81
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GBP: up at USD1.2949 (USD1.2924)
EUR: down at USD1.1705 (USD1.1718)
Gold: up at USD1,908.83 per ounce (USD1,900.51)
Oil (Brent): down at USD42.88 a barrel (USD43.00)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
1100 CEST EU construction output
1000 EDT US NAHB housing market index
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Brexit negotiators David Frost and Michel Barnier are expected to speak on Monday after Michael Gove said the door was "ajar" for trade talks to resume, PA reports. The Cabinet Office minister said negotiations could go ahead if the EU changes its approach, despite Downing Street previously declaring discussions as "over". EU negotiator Barnier was expecting to be called by his Downing Street counterpart on Monday afternoon, though No 10 was no more specific than saying the discussion would come early in the week. Face-to-face talks will take place in London between Gove and his opposite number on the UK-EU joint committee, Maros Sefcovic, in the morning. Meanwhile, the UK government launched a "time is running out" campaign urging businesses to get ready for the end of the transition period on December 31, regardless of whether a trade deal is in place. Businesses, increasingly concerned about the high tariffs of a no-deal exit, called on both sides to find a compromise for a deal.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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DEUTSCHE BANK REINITIATES UNILEVER WITH 'BUY' - PRICE TARGET 5,500 PENCE
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BARCLAYS CUTS ST JAMES'S PLACE TO 'EQUAL WEIGHT' ('OVERWEIGHT') - TARGET 1075 (1224) PENCE
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JEFFERIES RAISES RATHBONES TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 1670 (1650) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca received a pair of postive European regulatory opinions for its drugs. Forxiga has been recommended for an extension of its European Union marketing authorisation to treat sufferers of symptomatic chronic heart failure. The endorsement from The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use was based on promising results from the DAPA-HF Phase III trial. Also getting a recommendation was Astra's Trixeo Aerosphere medication used to treat some adult patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Electricity generator Drax Group said it will hold a series of fixed income investor calls on Monday and Tuesday and may offer EUR250.0 million in five-year senior secured notes as a result. It said the proceeds would be used for general corporate purposes, including repaying other debt.
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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boohoo Group said PwC remains its auditor "at this time", despite press reports saying the accounting firm will quit over concerns about the online retailer's reputation. Citing two people familiar with the matter, the Financial Times on Friday reported PwC has signalled its intention to quit as boohoo's auditor with the past month. "The group would like to place on record that PwC is still the group's auditor at this time. The group's audit committee has recently launched a competitive tender process for the group's audit, and will update shareholders at its conclusion. PwC signed an unqualified opinion on the group's 2020 financial statements and having served as the group's auditor since 2014, is not participating in this process," boohoo said on Monday. Fast-fashion retailer boohoo recently arranged for an independent probe of its supply chain and in September said it would make "substantive, long-lasting and meaningful change". The review was launched by boohoo in July following claims it sold clothes made in factories where staff were paid less than the minimum wage.
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COMPANIES - GLOBAL
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The UK Competition & Markets Authority's chief executive has told the government to create a digital regulator within a year or else the CMA will take action against Alphabet's Google and Facebook, the Financial Times reported. Andrea Coscelli, the CMA's chief executive, told the FT that "he was preparing to mount investigations into the two internet giants if the government did not act fast enough to curb their powers." Coscelli informed the FT that the watchdog would be giving the UK government one year to create "a regulatory regime for big tech", which must include a new digital regulator, or else he would take action. The CMA faced criticism for not launching market investigations or antitrust cases into either of the two companies at the end of its year-long study of the online ad sector in July, despite finding problems.
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Monday's Shareholder Meetings
City of London Investment Group
Mattioli Woods
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By Tom Waite; [email protected]
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