Statement Regarding The Leadenhall Building

Two steel bolts have recently broken on The Leadenhall Building, British Land and Oxford Properties' asset at 122 Leadenhall Street in the City of London. No one was injured in either incident and there is no risk to the structural integrity of the building.

Public safety is our priority so we have taken a number of precautionary measures:

A full investigation is being conducted by contractor Laing O'Rourke and structural engineers Arup.  An examination is being undertaken of the remaining bolts. An area has been cordoned off around the base of the building while this process is ongoing. The Building Control Department has been notified. 

An update will be provided as soon as we are able.

Notes to editors

·      Two bolts are known to have broken.

·      The bolts connect the nodes on the megaframe, but the design of the structure allows for isolated events of this type and do not affect the structural integrity of the building.

·      One part of one of the bolts that broke became dislodged and fell to the ground at the side of the building within the hoarding line.

Enquiries:

Investor Relations


Sally Jones, British Land

020 7467 2942

Media


Pip Wood, British Land

020 7467 2838

Gordon Simpson, Finsbury Group

020 7251 3801

Charlotte Whitley, Finsbury Group          

020 7251 3801

About British Land

We are one of Europe's largest publicly listed real estate companies. We own, manage, develop and finance a portfolio of high quality commercial property, focused on retail locations around the UK and London Offices & Residential. We have total assets in the UK, owned or managed of £17.6 billion (British Land share of which is £11.9 billion), as valued at 31 March 2014. Our properties are home to over 1,000 different organisations and receive over 300 million visits each year. Our objective is to deliver long-term and sustainable total returns to our shareholders and we do this by focusing on Places People Prefer. People have a choice where they work, shop and live and we aim to create outstanding places which make a positive difference to people's everyday lives. Our customer orientation enables us to develop a deep understanding of the people who use our places. We employ a lean team of experts, who have the skills to translate this understanding into creating the right places, and we have an efficient capital structure which is able to effectively finance these places.

UK Retail assets account for 53% (pro forma for developments at estimated end value) of our portfolio. As the UK's largest listed owner and manager of retail space, our portfolio is well matched to the different ways people shop today, from major regional shopping centres to single occupier locations. We are focused on being the destination of choice for retailers and their customers by being the best provider of spaces and services. Comprising around 25 million sq ft of retail space across 63 retail parks, 82 superstores, 14 shopping centres, 12 department stores and 77 leisure assets, the retail portfolio is modern, flexible and adaptable to a wide range of formats.

Our Office and Residential portfolio, which accounts for 47% (pro forma for developments at estimated end value) of our portfolio is focused on London. We have an attractive mix of high quality buildings in well managed environments and a pipeline of development projects which will add significantly to our portfolio. Increasingly, our offices are in mixed-use environments which include retail and residential elements. Our 7.3 million sq ft of high quality office space includes Regent's Place and Paddington Central in the West End and Broadgate, the premier City office campus (50% share).

Our size and substance demands a responsible approach to business. We believe leadership on issues such as sustainability helps drive our performance and is core to the delivery of our overall objective of driving shareholder value and creating Places People Prefer.

Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com

About Oxford Properties

Oxford Properties is one of the world's leading real estate companies. A global platform for real estate investment, development and management, with over 1,700 employees and approximately $27 billion of real assets that it manages for itself and on behalf of its co-owners and investment partners. Established in 1960, Oxford was acquired in 2001 by OMERS, one of Canada's largest pension funds with over $65 billion in assets. Oxford has regional offices in Toronto, London and New York, each with investment, development and management professionals who have deep real estate expertise and local market insight. For more information visit www.oxfordproperties.com


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