Firm's fall in value due to EU vote 'will not affect £300m Meadowhall extension'

The value of British Land's property portfolio fell by 2.8 per cent in the last six months, despite underlying profits rising by 16 per cent to £199 million.

The company, which jointly owns the shopping centre with a Norwegian government fund, put the drop in value down to concern in the property market caused by the UK's vote to leave the EU.

British Land owns a number of office properties in London, and some financial experts believe it could suffer if financial companies decide to leave London once Britain's EU membership ends.

In November the firm submitted plans for a £300 million extension to Meadowhall. But a spokesman said the EU vote had not affected British Land's plans for Sheffield.

“We delivered a good set of half year results four weeks ago with a significant increase in underlying profits reflecting our actions and continued leasing momentum," the spokesman said.

"We announced that underlying profits, our main measure of recurring profitability, was up 16 per cent to £199m. The reported loss represented a modest fall in the valuation of our portfolio by 2.8 per cent, reflecting uncertainty across the UK property market following the result of the EU referendum.

"The 330,000 sq ft leisure hall at Meadowhall is one of two significant opportunities in our medium term development pipeline. We continue to see value in adding leisure uses to our retail assets and the leisure hall also supports our strategic vision for Meadowhall.

"Following an encouraging consultation period over the summer, we submitted a planning application in November.”

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