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British Land finally sold half its stake in City of London office complex Broadgate today - giving it the firepower to embark on a £1 billion spending spree.
The landlord and developer sold a 50% stake in Broadgate to private equity group Blackstone for £77 million in cash. It also off-loaded half the £1.98 billion - £987 million debt - associated with Broadgate to Blackstone.
British Land chief executive Chris Grigg said the much-anticipated deal slashed its debts and gave it room to spend around £1 billion buying cut-price property over the next 12 months.
"That's the number I want to see going out the door," he said.
"We think there will be really good opportunities to buy in the next year or so and this deal increases our firepower and our capability to buy.
"It has been a very tough time. The occupational market is still tough and rents are still falling but in terms of valuations, we think the market is a lot more attractive than it was three months ago."
The sale of the 50% stake in Broadgate completes a repositioning implemented by Grigg when he joined British Land in January.
Grigg, a former banker with Barclays and Goldman Sachs, pledged to reduce the firm's exposure to large single assets such as Broadgate, which has lost 40% of its value since its peak in summer 2007.
