Land Securities plans 4,000 homes on retail sites

Developer Land Securities is to build more than 4,000 homes on its suburban retail sites across London, as it seeks to counteract a slide in the value of its retail developments.Land Securities’ half-year results for the six months to the end of September 2018 showed that there was a 2.9% drop in the value of shopping centres and shops, with retail parks down 4.5% and leisure and hotels down 0.2%.Meanwhile, its London office development pipeline increased to two million sq ft, with an estimated cost of £2bn. The value of its London office portfolio rose 0.2%.Acknowledging that “structural and cyclical challenges have combined to create tough conditions for retailers”, the company announced that it was working up plans for “significant” mixed use developments.Those include more than 4,000 homes on suburban retail sites. At two of those, in Finchley Road NW3 and Shepherd’s Bush W12, it intends to submit plans in the first half of 2019, with a total development cost of around £1bn.Land Securities made a pre-tax profit of £42m for the six months to 30 September 2018, down from £34m in the same period the year before.