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Land Securities today hailed “the first signs of recovery” in the commercial property market but warned of a bumpy ride ahead.
The firm, a major developer and landlord in London and around the UK, said the value of its property empire started rising again in July having crashed more than 40% in two years.
Chief executive Francis Salway said: “The timing of the turning point was slightly earlier than generally expected — in July 2009 — and by the end of our half year we had seen the first signs of recovery.
“We are confident that, from the low point in July, property values will rise over the next five years with the profile characterised by ripples rather than pure straight-line growth.”
He raised concern over ongoing problems in the banking sector, which is yet to feel the full pain of reckless lending to the property sector before boom turned to bust.
Land Securities reported first-half losses of £4.6 million against a deficit of £1.62 billion in the same period last year.
Despite the rise in prices since July, the value of the property portfolio fell 1.4% in the six months to the end of September to £8.7 billion, better than the 2.4% drop reported by rival British Land yesterday.
