Land Securities carried out almost £1 bn of sales in Q4 2008

Land Securities said it will continue to focus on balance sheet management and leasing following the accelerated deterioration of the market in the last quarter of 2008.

In a management statement on Tuesday, the UK's largest real estate investment trust said it has carried out almost £1 bn of property sales over the fourth quarter of 2008 - the £750 mln sale of its outsourcing business Trillium to Telereal and the disposal of £214 mln of other assets. Land Securities said it will use the proceeds to pay down debt. There were virtually no acquisitions.

CEO Francis Salway said: 'Commercial property has gone through an unprecedented period of re-adjustment. The speed of valuation decline allied to rising insolvency rates mean the sector is facing one of the most challenging periods in generations. However, the ongoing stability of the vast majority of our income streams acts as a major support.'

He added: 'Our objective continues to be to navigate a prudent line through the current volatilities by concentrating on the management of our balance sheet and the leasing up of our developments. We maintain a cautious outlook in the belief that property will continue to be affected by the weakness of the wider economy.'

At end-December 2008, the company's net borrowings amounted to £5.7 bn at an average cost of 5% with an average maturity of 11.1 years.