Land Securities
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Land Securities Group plc | |
---|---|
Type | Real estate investment trust |
Founded | 1944 |
Headquarters | London, England, UK |
Key people | Paul Myners(Chairman) Francis Salway, (CEO) |
Industry | Property |
Products | Property Development, Property Investment, Property Outsourcing |
Revenue | £1,723 million GBP (2007) |
Operating income | £2,021 million GBP (2007) |
Net income | £3,528 million GBP (2007) |
Website | www.landsecurities.co.uk |
Land Securities REIT is the largest property company in Europe and the leading British property development and investment company headquartered in central London. The company switched to Real Estate Investment Trust status when REITs were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
The Group traces its origins to 1944, when its founder Harold Samuel purchased Land Securities Investment Trust Limited, which owned three houses in Kensington and some government stock. Further acquisitions followed shortly afterwards and from 1947 the company concentrated on commercial property. In the early days some non-UK investments were acquired, but in 1971 these were sold off and the company has concentrated solely on the UK market since then. In 1974 the value of the Group's portfolio reached £1 billion. The company name was changed to Land Securities plc in 1982 and later to Land Securities Group plc.
Land Securities' core investments are office buildings, primarily in central London, and in retail property, which is more widely spread across the UK. The LS Group also contains the property outsourcing business Land Securities Trillium.
As of early 2007 Land Securities states on its website that it has a £14.4 billion property portfolio.
Land Securities, Hammerson and Henderson Group together form the Birmingham Alliance who are responsible for the Bull Ring Shopping Centre development, Martineau Place and the up-coming Martineau Galleries development in Birmingham, United Kingdom.