Canadian investment giant Brookfield has become now one of British Land’s largest shareholders with the acquisition of a 7.31% stake in the UK REIT.
The move, representing an investment of around £260 mln (€290 mln), means Brookfield is the second largest owner in the office and retail property firm after BlackRock (9.16%), according to data from website Morningstar.
The acquisition comes just a few days after British Land wrote down the value of its retail portfolio by more than 25% due to the impact of the coronavirus.
The company, which focuses on London offices and retail properties in the UK, saw its total portfolio shed over 10% of value, leading to a £1.1 bn loss for the year ended 31 March (compared to a loss of £320 mln a year earlier). Retail assets were down 26.1%, while office properties gained 2.3%. In total, the company’s portfolio is now valued at £11.1 bn, versus £12.3 bn a year earlier.
