British Land Share Discussion Threads

[skyship] 20/3/2013 09:01

Shugsy - Yes, I've seen the bizarre Deutsche Bank target. £7 seems a tad optimistic versus an NAV of just £6! Unless one's playing the 3-5yr view perhaps.

[shugsy] 20/3/2013 08:35

Sky

It was technical play along with a positive fundamental picture.

A break of the recent high would setup £+7.

[skyship] 19/3/2013 17:15

Shugsy – if you want commercial Property exposure there is far better value elsewhere.

I drop by here now and again with thoughts on alternative property plays - invariably the smaller caps we follow on the CP+ thread.

My three recommendations so far proved nicely profitable:

# Apr'11 - P. No.1152 - BUY MCKS @ 120p - now 144p
# Jun'12 - P. No.1296 - BUY SREI @ 32.75p - now 41.25p
# Jan'13 - P. No.1331 - BUY CIC @ 92p - now 111p

My next in this series is again a chance to buy at a substantial NAV discount. This time – BUY Development Securities (DSC) @ 152.5p.

# NAV discount = 40.4% versus the 256p NAV
# 30% of assets in the books at Cost
# LTV 35%
# George Soros Quantum Partners paid c150p for a 5.7% stake in Jan'13
# Prelims due in 5weeks (1st May last year)
# Major share issues at Net Asset Value in 2009 & 2010 in order to profit from the oversold CP market. Stock left with underwriters after the last issue & the selling of that stock caused a long term price disruption – See Header of the B/b thread
# A beneficiary of the anticipated move to investment in the Regions
# Good Property Week article – see below:

[shugsy] 18/3/2013 15:30

NAV c. £6 a share.

Just bounced off the 200ma daily so could have a rebound and close the gap 580?

Could be a good time to buy.

[shugsy] 18/3/2013 15:28

18 Mar Deutsche Bank Buy 551.25 720.00 720.00 Retains

[miata] 15/3/2013 12:46

Whilst this is rather a dog in my portfolio (fortunately a small dog), you can see from the above chart that it has performed in line with the sector (or fractionally outperformed if you are being kind). The Shard and the cancellation of the Pinnacle/'Helter-skelter' show there is currently no shortage of office space in London.

[skyship] 15/3/2013 12:36

Daily Mail link above - a far more Market savvy article...

[scotches] 15/3/2013 12:18

At the other end of the age scale the Daily Mail's Alex Brummer was negative about Brit Land management this week.

Land grab
In the days of Sir John Ritblat the sight of British Land raising £1bn through a property sale and issue of new shares might have been expected to delight investors.

For many years British Land was regarded as the smartest player in property, regularly outperforming more staid rivals.

It quietly stalked the owners of what became Broadgate, assembling one of the most valuable sites in the City by buying up plots of land, buildings and the debts of weak developers until it was in full control. It was the kind of audacious transaction that made it a favourite among shareholders.

Then along came the corporate governance mavens. Ritblat and his cadre of professionals were shoved to one side, more 'professional' managers – first Stephen Hester and then Chris Grigg – were brought in.

Suddenly the deals looked less inventive but, in keeping with the practices of the time, remuneration climbed.

Amid the turmoil of 2009, with cash in short supply, Grigg and the British Land management seemed to have panicked.

In the rush to find cash they sold a 50 per cent stake in one of the group's best assets – Broadgate – for just £77million to American sharpshooters Blackstone.

Earlier this year the Blackstone stake returned to the market and was reportedly sold for £520million, after debt. The property firm once regarded as Britain's smartest had been outwitted by a US private equity outfit best known in the UK for the fast buck profit it made on care home group Southern Cross.

Given the recent history and the lack of specifics in British Land's stock exchange statement, the idea of giving Grigg and his team £1billion to play with does not fill one with enthusiasm.

They have done little to demonstrate the company's old entrepreneurial instincts are alive and well.

[skyship] 15/3/2013 12:11

Surely he's just intimating a cautious rating.

[miata] 15/3/2013 12:09

Interesting.

What does one understand from the words 'priced defensively'?

If funds are prepared to consider it value at 550p isn't it near a defensible price?

Isn't a share yielding 4.7% defensive?

Just asking.

[skyship] 14/3/2013 17:09

Re the D.Tel Questor article. A real teenage scribbler piece - well researched, well constructed, well spelt; but the conclusion that BLND is priced defensively is just plain wrong. Priced to perfection more like. The boy is still a learner journalist and seems to be doing well; but making an investment judgement requires - JUDGEMENT - that comes with Market experience and I don't see any record of such in his recent CV:
=====================================================
I work for the Daily Telegraph as their property and industry correspondent. I write stories for the daily and Sunday paper, as well as the Telegraph's website, focusing on property, aerospace and defence, and the car industry. I also cover sports business and the 2012 London Olympics.

When I graduated from Goldsmiths in 2007 I initially wanted to be a sports journalist. Then in 2008 I started the Telegraph's graduate training scheme, which involved placements in various different teams. I really enjoyed working for the city desk, so when I was offered a job there I went for it. At first I was a city reporter, but in 2010 I moved up to property and industry correspondent.
=====================================================

[philanderer] 13/3/2013 20:53

On the watchlist.

13th march

Questor share tip: British Land fundraising positions property company for growth
British Land is a company financed to go on the offensive, but priced defensively on the stock market.

Buy

[skyship] 12/3/2013 16:22

No - 550p:

A total of 89,674,604 new ordinary shares in British Land ("Placing Shares") have been placed by Morgan Stanley, UBS and Goldman Sachs (the "Bookrunners") at a price of 550 pence per Placing Share, raising total gross proceeds of approximately GBP493 million for the Company.

[miata] 12/3/2013 16:11

550p which is a 5.25% discount. Admission 8.00 a.m. on 15 March 2013.

[skyship] 12/3/2013 13:31

555p? Has that been confirmed?

[a0148009] 12/3/2013 13:00

Placing price circa 5% discount with rights to the March dividend x 27 March 6.6p to yesterdays closing price of 580.5p

AO

[miata] 12/3/2013 11:16

British Land placing this morning.

9.99% of British Land's existing issued share capital.

To raise approximately GBP500 million.

[skyship] 12/3/2013 08:54

"The British Land Company PLC (the "Company" or "British Land") announces today its intention to place up to 89,674,604 new ordinary shares in the Company (the "Placing Shares"), representing approximately 9.99% of British Land's existing issued share capital, with both existing and new institutional investors (the "Placing")."

Opportunistic play by the Board as the share price had advanced to a mere 3% NAV discount. SMP did exactly the same thing last month - and who can blame them?

Far better to buy propcos on high NAV discounts - see my earlier recommendation above for CIC - already up 22%; but plenty more to go for...

[miata] 23/1/2013 09:15

Real estate investment trust Land Securities rose after saying that the third quarter saw a "strong operating performance across out investment portfolio".

[skyship] 09/1/2013 15:54

Hi Miata, Tenapen & others.

I drop by now and again with thoughts on property plays - invariably the lower cap we follow on the CP+ thread.

Both my last two visits offered quite profitable advice:

# Apr'11 - P. No.1152 - BUY MCKS
# Jun'12 - P. No.1296 - BUY SREI

Third time lucky if you missed the last two:

# Jan'13 - P. No.1331 - BUY CIC @ 92p

#NAV discount = 45.2% versus the 4% here!!!
#LTV just 27.4%
#20% of the assets in development projects at cost
#share buybacks underwriting the sp
#AGM next week
#Great Risk/Reward play - 6% downside v 30%+ upside

Time to BUY the dog - plenty of info on the CIC thread; inc. a large write-up last week.