British Land is delighted to announce a £500,000 investment in the National Literacy Trust's Young Readers' Programme over the next three years. This significant commitment reflects British Land's Community Charter which recognises the positive benefits that can be brought to local communities through working in partnership with others.

Research has shown that enjoyment of reading has a huge impact on a child's educational achievement, confidence and future employability. The Young Readers' Programme uses this transformative benefit of reading for pleasure to tackle the restrictive effect of economic background on the long-term prospects of children. Working in less advantaged areas, this school-based initiative supports teaching professionals to develop an enjoyable reading culture which in turn contributes to improved literacy skills.

Eighteen key British Land retail sites will take part in the programme this year working with 45 schools and reaching about 4500 children. All the children will have the opportunity to participate in fun and exciting events both at these sites and in schools involving professional storytellers and craft activities which show how enjoyable reading can be. In addition, children are taught how to make appropriate book choices and are given three new books of their own choice to keep.

Last year, more than 95% of the project coordinators last year felt that the 3000 children involved experienced a positive change in their enjoyment of reading and motivated them to read more. Building on last year's success, British Land will again collaborate with a variety of retailers at its retail parks and shopping centres to host the series of events promoting the positive impacts of reading on lifelong skills beyond the classroom.

Chris Grigg, Chief Executive, British Land, said: "British Land is delighted to be working with the National Literacy Trust to encourage children to read for pleasure. As an employer of highly skilled staff, we know only too well the importance of literacy and how this is the foundation of a successful workforce. We hope that our long term investment in this project will provide thousands of children with the opportunity to reach their full potential in school, work and their communities.'

Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust says: "The National Literacy Trust is delighted to partner with British Land to help disadvantaged children nurture a love for reading that can last a lifetime. Exciting literacy events at British Land retail properties offer children the chance to enjoy reading out of the classroom, in a fun environment. Reading for pleasure enriches children's lives, helps them to succeed at school and gain vital skills for the future."

Notes to Editors

Media Contacts:
British Land
Corporate media: Helen Lo 07912 572619
Retail media: Jackie Whitaker 0207 467 3449
National Literacy Trust
Claire Nevill, Media Manager 0207 820 6275

Further details on the Young Readers Programme can be found on the National Literacy Trust's website www.literacytrust.org.uk

About British Land
British Land is one of Europe's largest Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Through our property and finance expertise we attract experienced partners to create properties and environments which are home to over 1,000 different organisations and receive over 300 million visits each year. Our property portfolio is focused on the UK, in prime retail locations and London offices which attract high quality occupiers committed to long leases. We have total assets in the UK, owned or managed, of £17.1 billion (British Land share £11.2 billion), as valued at 30 September 2013. Our occupancy rate is 97% and average lease length to first break of 11 years.

UK retail assets account for 59% of our portfolio, around 80% of which are located at prime out of town sites. Comprising around 26 million sq ft of retail space across 67 retail parks, 87 superstores, 16 shopping centres and 12 department stores and 77 leisure assets, the retail portfolio is modern, flexible and adaptable to a wide range of formats. Our active asset management delivers space which is attractive and meets the needs of both retailers and consumers.

London offices, located in the City and West End, comprise 39% of the portfolio, which will rise to an estimated 43% on completion of current committed developments. Our 7 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.

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

About the National Literacy Trust
We are a national charity dedicated to raising literacy levels in the UK. Our research and analysis make us the leading authority on literacy. We run projects in the poorest communities, campaign to make literacy a priority for politicians and parents, and support schools.

Visit www.literacytrust.org.uk to find out more, donate or sign up for a free email newsletter. You can also find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

For further information about the National Literacy Trust, please contact Claire Nevill, Media Manager on 0207 820 6275 or at Claire.Nevill@literacytrust.org.uk

The National Literacy Trust is a registered charity no. 1116260 and a company limited by guarantee no. 5836486 registered in England and Wales and a registered charity in Scotland no. SC042944. Registered address: 68 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1RL.

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