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| - UK real estate group British Land on Wednesday posted another large annual net loss on the back of pandemic fallout. Losses after tax hit £1.0 billion ($1.4 billion, 1.2 billion euros) in its financial year to March, during which the UK imposed multiple virus lockdowns. The performance compared with a similar loss in the prior year, British Land added in a results statement. The firm slashed the value of its property portfolio by almost 11 percent to £9.1 billion, as a boom in both homeworking and online shopping dented demand for offices and shops. "Our performance this year clearly reflects the impact of Covid-19," said Chief Executive Simon Carter. "But we have further strengthened our finances through timely asset sales and are well positioned for the opportunities that lie ahead." Revenues collapsed by almost a quarter to £468 million. Stripping out exceptional items, however, underlying annual profit fell by about a third to £201 million. British Land's share price sank 4.6 percent to 495.80 pence in afternoon deals on London's falling FTSE 100 index. "There is no mistaking the challenge British Land is facing," said analyst Susannah Streeter at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown. "It's not only being threatened by the rising tide of homeworking, but like a sandcastle, it faces fresh erosion from the heavy spade of e-commerce." The group meanwhile sold off £1.2 billion of assets during the year, comprising £556 million in retail real estate and £643 million in offices. "The company is recognising that the working from home revolution brought about by Covid, isn't likely to be reversed any time soon," added Streeter. Corporate giants including HSBC and KPMG are offering staff hybrid or flexible work -- split between home and offices -- as Britain eases lockdown curbs. "Covid-19 has clearly accelerated trends in the way that companies use workspace" with "more hybrid ways of working," British Land said Wednesday. It also noted the pandemic had switched its retail focus to out-of-town shopping hubs, as more consumers shun high streets and traditional shopping centres. At the same time, high-street retailers including Arcadia and Debenhams have collapsed during the pandemic. "Covid-19 has compounded existing structural challenges for retailers by accelerating the shift to online shopping, which now accounts for 33 percent of retail sales," the firm added. "Shoppers are more confident visiting open-air locations they can access by car and where social distancing can be more easily managed so footfall and sales have generally recovered more quickly." ved-rfj/tgb
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