British Land shares led many U.K. peers higher on Monday, after the FTSE 250 constituent defied fears that higher interest rates and the work-from-home trend were badly damaging the property sector as it saw rents grow at the top end of expectations.
British Land’s BLND, +3.76% 4% vacancy rate is less than half the London average, and it is sufficiently confident about demand that it recently rebuffed an offer from Meta to find another tenant to take over the Facebook owner’s lease at a Regent’s Park office because rents have risen since the deal was inked in 2021, according to the Financial Times.
British Land shares rose more than 5%, but remain down 16% for the year. It’s bigger competitors, Land Securities LAND, +1.50%, which is due to publish results on Tuesday, rose about 2%, while Segro SGRO, -0.39% gave up most of its early gains to trade a fraction weaker on the day.